Hillary's baloney on bankruptcy

[jefferson_dem]

Obama Campaign: On bankruptcy and other issues, Americans are tired of the same political games

“Hillary Clinton may believe this is a race for who would make the best Chief of Staff, but Barack Obama believes this country is looking for a President who has the leadership, vision and ability to bring people of differing views together around a common agenda for change. The real news in last night’s debate was Senator Clinton’s classically-Washington statement that she was glad the credit card industry’s bankruptcy bill that she voted for did not pass. It may be acceptable in Washington to take hundreds of thousands of dollars from big banks and lenders, vote for their bill that hurts working families, and then say you hope it doesn’t become law, but it’s unacceptable to Americans who are tired of the same political games from the same politicians,” said Obama spokesman Bill Burton.

CLINTON AT THE DEBATE LAST NIGHT

RUSSERT: Senator Clinton, you voted for the same 2001 bankruptcy bill that Senator Edwards just said he was wrong about. After you did that, the Consumer Federation of America said that your reversal on that bill, voting for it, was the death knell for the opponents of the bill. Do you regret that vote?

CLINTON: Sure I do, but it never became law, as you know. It got tied up. It was a bill that had some things I agreed with and other things I didn’t agree with, and I was happy that it never became law. I opposed the 2005 bill as well.

2001 BANKRUPTCY BILL

IN 1998, CLINTON WAS FIRMLY AGAINST BANKRUPTCY BILL

1998: Clinton “Sounded The Alarm” To Issue A Veto Threat On Bankruptcy Legislation. In 1998, when bankruptcy legislation “was close to final approval on Capitol Hill, the first lady sounded the alarm inside the White House and a veto threat from the president stopped it cold.”

DECEMBER 2000: Bill Clinton Vetoed Bankruptcy Bill. President Clinton vetoed legislation “that proposed the most sweeping changes in the bankruptcy law in 20 years because he said it was unfair to ordinary debtors and working families who fall on hard times.” Clinton favored revamping the bankruptcy laws but thought the bill was not even handed.

CLINTON RECEIVED MORE THAN $200K FROM PROPONENTS OF BANKRUPTCY BILL

1999-2000: Clinton Received Almost $210K From Finance/Credit Companies, Credit Unions And Commercial Banks During Her Senate Campaign. In Clinton’s 1999-2000 Senate campaign she received $13,600 from finance and credit companies, $5,475 from credit unions and $191,260 from commercial banks.

Banks, Credit Card Companies And Credit Unions Led The Fight To Pass The Bankruptcy Bill. Banks, credit card companies and credit unions led the drive to rewrite the nation’s bankruptcy laws and pass the 2001 bankruptcy bill.
https://webmail.barackobama.com/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?U... > >

IN 2001, CLINTON VOTED FOR THE BANKRUPTCY BILL

MARCH 15, 2001: Clinton Voted For Senate Bankruptcy Reform Act Of 2001, Virtually The Same Bill She Was Against Years Earlier. In 2001, Clinton and Edwards voted for the most sweeping overhaul of bankruptcy laws in 20 years, to prevent upper-income creditors who have the means of paying some or all of their debts from unjustly filing for bankruptcy, and to enact reforms to protect consumers from unfair credit practices. The legislation applies a new standard for determining whether people filing for bankruptcy should be forced to repay their debts under a court-approved reorganization plan rather than having them dissolved. If a debtor were found to have sufficient income to repay at least 25 percent of the debt over five years, a reorganization plan generally would be required. The vote was on final Senate passage, as amended, of the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2001.

Clinton Called For Passage Of The Bill. Clinton said, “Bankruptcy reform is important. I grew up with a father who worked hard to avoid having debts. In recent weeks, I have heard form many small credit unions throughout New York, hard working small lenders whose entire membership suffers when the credit union is faced with covering bankruptcy losses. <…> Reform is needed. The right kind of reform is necessary. We’re on our way toward that goal, and I hope we can achieve final passage of a good bankruptcy reform bill this year.”

CONSUMER GROUPS CRITICIZED THE BILL

Consumer Federation Of America Head/Former Senator Howard Metzenbaum, On The Bankruptcy Bill Said “The Cries, Claims And Concerns Of Vulnerable Americans Who Have Suffered A Financial Emergency Have Been Drowned Out By The Political Might Of The Credit Card Industry.” “I’ve never seen a bill that was so one-sided,” said former senator Howard M. Metzenbaum, head of the Consumer Federation of America, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group. “The cries, claims and concerns of vulnerable Americans who have suffered a financial emergency have been drowned out by the political might of the credit card industry.”

Consumer Federation Of America And Public Citizen Opposed And Lobbied Against The Bankruptcy Bill And Said It Could Do More Harm To Indebted Americans Than Limit Fraud And Abuse. “Consumer groups, including the Consumer Federation of America and Public Citizen, are lobbying against the bill. They contend Congress should crack down on the financial companies, which they criticize for handing out credit cards and credit lines indiscriminately. Additionally, they contend the legislation is too far-reaching and could ultimately do more harm to indebted Americans than limit fraud and abuse.”
http://www.opensecrets.org/news/bankruptcy/ > >

Banking, Credit Card Companies Lobbied For Bill, Consumer Groups And Unions Opposed Reform. The banking, credit card and retail credit industries have spent millions of dollars in campaign contributions and lobbying activities on behalf of it over the past three years. Consumer groups and unions have been aggressive in opposing it, contending that the changes in bankruptcy law will take away an important means of relief for families hit by job losses. Personal bankruptcies in the United States reached a record 1.4 million in 1998, up more than 300 percent since 1980. The total declined to about 1.3 million in 1999 and 1.2 million last year.

2001 & 2005 BANKRUPTCY BILLS WERE THE SAME

According To Several Media Sources, the 2000, 2001 & 2005 Bankruptcy Bills Were “Almost The Same Measure” And “Virtually The Same Bill.” The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said the 2005 bankruptcy bill was “almost the same measure” as the bankruptcy bill that President Bill Clinton refused to sign in 2000 and Mother Jones said that the 2000 bankruptcy bill was “virtually the same bill” as the 2001 bankruptcy bill that Hillary Clinton voted for. http://www.motherjones.com/washington_dispatch/2007/07/... > >

Los Angeles Times: All Previous Bankruptcy Bills Were Similar To The 2005 Bankruptcy Bill. “Even after their victories Tuesday, some Republicans noted that similar legislation had passed the Senate on three previous occasions but had failed to become law.”

http://thepage.time.com/obama-statement/

[MannyGoldstein]

1. Some Politicians Are For Things Before They're Against Them. Clinton, On The Other Hand...

Is for AND against everything at the same time. And, boy, is she good at it - her skill at this is fantastic.

[neutron]

7. you aren't watching the debates

She clearly and forcefully came out with specifics over the generalities put forth by her opponents.

[BootinUp]

2. Hillary answers questions on the Bankruptcy Bill

The Democratic Debate in Las Vegas

Published: January 15, 2008



MR. RUSSERT: Senator Clinton, you voted for the same 2001 bankruptcy bill that Senator Edwards just said he was wrong about. After you did that, the Consumer Federation of America said that your reversal on that bill, voting for it, was the death knell for the opponents of the bill. Do you regret that vote?

SEN. CLINTON: Sure, I do. It never became law, as you know. It got tied up. It was a bill that had some things I agreed with and other things I didn't agree with, and I was happy that it never became law. And I opposed the 2005 bill as well.

But let's talk about where we are now with bankruptcy. We need urgently to have bankruptcy reform in order to get the kind of options available for homeowners. In addition to what I want to do, which is the moratorium on foreclosures for 90 days to see what we can do to work them out, and freezing interest rates for five years, and making the mortgage industry more transparent so we actually know what they're doing -- I mean, look what happened with Countrywide. You know, Countrywide gets bought and the CEO, who was one of the architects of this whole subprime mess, is sent off with $110 million -- $110 million in severance pay. You know, the priorities and the values are absolutely wrong. So what we've got to do is move urgently.

In addition to what I've proposed, I think we've got to reform the bankruptcy law right now going forward so that people who are caught in these subprime and now increasingly conventional loans that they can't pay because of the way the interest rates are going up, and many of the fraudulent and predatory practices that got people into them in the first place, will have the option of getting relieved of this debt. So there's a lot we need to do right now.

And you know, I want to just add that -- that the groups that sponsored this are primarily black and brown groups, that care deeply about these issues. Everything we're talking about falls disproportionately on African Americans, on Hispanics, on a lot of Asian Americans. Here in Nevada, the African American and Hispanic communities are really the ones who are most victimized by these subprime mortgages.

They're the ones who are often the first to be let go when the economy begins to slide. You know, in and out of the homes that I have visited in here in Las Vegas, those are the stories that I'm hearing.

So we need to move urgently. We have a lot of big agenda items that I agree with John on -- universal health care, college affordability -- but we can't wait. We're going to lose another, you know, million Americans in home foreclosures. We're going to see a deteriorating community across America because homes will be left vacant. The housing market is down. Nobody will buy those homes. Housing wealth, which is the principal source of American middle class wealth, is now decreasing.

So I have a real sense of urgency. We need to be acting now. And I know that the Democratic Congress under Senator Harry Reid and Speaker Pelosi are going to do everything they can to address this.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/15/us/politics/15demdebate-transcript.html?sq=hillary%20clinton%20bankruptcy%20bill&scp=1&pagewanted=all

[jefferson_dem]

4. That's the point of the OP - Hillary's BULLSHIT on bankruptcy.

Read. :)

[BootinUp]

5. It had some things she agreed with in 2001

which were taken out in the later version. Protection for single parent families.

[earthlover]

6. Remedial Enlish Required:

"In addition to what I've proposed, I think we've got to reform the bankruptcy law right now going forward so that people who are caught in these subprime and now increasingly conventional loans that they can't pay because of the way the interest rates are going up, and many of the fraudulent and predatory practices that got people into them in the first place, will have the option of getting relieved of this debt. So there's a lot we need to do right now.

And you know, I want to just add that -- that the groups that sponsored this are primarily black and brown groups, that care deeply about these issues. Everything we're talking about falls disproportionately on African Americans, on Hispanics, on a lot of Asian Americans. Here in Nevada, the African American and Hispanic communities are really the ones who are most victimized by these subprime mortgages".

[BootinUp]

8. Sorry, point entirely not understood

perhaps your communication skills could use some polish.

[earthlover]

3. I am beginning to think Hillary is a pathological liar....

"RUSSERT: Senator Clinton, you voted for the same 2001 bankruptcy bill that Senator Edwards just said he was wrong about. After you did that, the Consumer Federation of America said that your reversal on that bill, voting for it, was the death knell for the opponents of the bill. Do you regret that vote?

CLINTON: Sure I do, but it never became law, as you know. It got tied up. It was a bill that had some things I agreed with and other things I didn’t agree with, and I was happy that it never became law. I opposed the 2005 bill as well."

So...she voted FOR the bill...but was happy it never became law. Unless you are part of the Hillary Herd of Lemmings....you know that this is ridiculous. Quite frankly, I am beginning to wonder if Hillary actually believes her bullshit.

EARTH TO HILLARY: if you don't want something to become law, why vote FOR it? If you don't understand this, why don't you just resign your seat in the Senate? You obviously don't understand how things work.

[Cha]

9. But, she has to be..how does the

truth work in with getting back into the whitehouse?

[rinsd]

11. It seems she was referring to it in hindsight.

She stated that she regretted her vote.

Where exactly did she lie?

Seems like its the haters who are doing the lying.

[rinsd]

10. More facts, less Obama crap.

As first lady, Mrs. Clinton worked against the bill. She helped kill one version of it, then another version passed, which her husband vetoed. As a senator, in 2001, she voted for it, but it did not pass. When it came up again in 2005, she missed the vote because her husband was in the hospital, although she indicated she would have opposed it.

In the late 1990’s, as first lady, Mrs. Clinton became deeply involved in the issue, her first real foray into legislation since the collapse of her health-care effort in 1994. She sought a private tutorial on the subject, worked behind the scenes with members of Congress, wrote public newspaper columns and spoke out against it.

Her concern was that the bill would hurt women and children. The law then required that if a divorced man filed for bankruptcy, he had to pay off his alimony and child-support obligations first. The bill gave equal status to credit card companies and other lenders who were seeking to recoup money.

President Clinton pocket-vetoed the bill at the end of his term, after Mrs. Clinton had been elected to the Senate. Congress had left town and did not have the chance to try to override the veto.

The bill popped up again 2001, which was Mrs. Clinton’s first year in the Senate. She worked with Republicans on it and was one of 36 Democrats who helped it pass the Senate, saying it had been improved from when she opposed it. Still, this version was vigorously opposed by consumer groups and unions, and ultimately did not become law.

When the bill came up again in 2005, Mrs. Clinton missed the vote. She did vote against a procedural motion involving the bill and said that had she been present, she would have voted against the bill itself.

Explaining Senator Clinton’s support for the bill in 2001, Phil Singer, a campaign spokesman, said, “She helped forge a compromise in the 2001 bill intended to ensure that custodial parents got child custody payments.” She opposed the bill later, he said, because “unfortunately, that provision was stripped from the 2005 legislation.”

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/08/clinton-and-the-bankruptcy-law/

Here's David Sirota (I am certainly not a fan) On Obama and the bankrupcty bill

http://www.credoaction.com/sirota/2007/10/obama_camp_feigns_outrage_dist.html

" voted against the credit-card-industry-written bankruptcy bill Obama also voted against an amendment that would have capped credit-card interest rates at a whopping 30 percent."