Attempt to Revive Bankruptcy Bill Fails

A bill to make it harder for consumers to evade debts by declaring bankruptcy was officially declared dead for this congressional year by a key Republican sponsor, handing a setback to banks and credit card issuers that fought hard for the measure. “I am disappointed our efforts to seal the cracks in the consumer bankruptcy code did not prevail this year,” said Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), the main Senate sponsor. He vowed to try again next year. Grassley and other congressional aides mounted a last-minute push to add the bankruptcy proposal to the $500-billion-plus “omnibus” spending bill, the bill Congress must pass before concluding work for the year. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) announced an agreement on the spending package Wednesday night that didn’t include the bankruptcy language. The bill was effectively killed last week when Grassley and House Republicans unveiled a revised bill that was negotiated without Democrats. Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) criticized the package as anti-consumer. Efforts by Grassley and the White House to negotiate a compromise failed.