An amendment numbered 1 printed in House Report numbered 108-407 to make technical changes to the text of H.R. 975 as passed by the House, which consist of the following: (1) revising the year of the short title (and subsequent references thereto) from 2003 to 2004 and a Code of Federal Regulations reference from2002 to 2003; (2) amending section 1001 to make the reenactment of Chapter 12 retroactive to the date on which Chapter 12 was last in effect; (3) renumbering titles XIV and XV as titles XV and XIV, respectively, to clarify the measure's overall effective date; (4) correcting an erroneous drafting instruction in section 1201; and (5) adding a new provision (section 1502) that corrects statutory cross-references in the Bankruptcy Code and the Securities Investment Protection Act with respect to a provision of the Bankruptcy Code amended by H.R. 975.

Strike “Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2003” each place it appears and insert “Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2004”.

In section 204 strike “2002” and insert “2003”.

Strike section 1001 and insert the following:

SEC. 1001. PERMANENT REENACTMENT OF CHAPTER 12.

(a) Reenactment.--

(1) In general.--Chapter 12 of title 11, United States Code, as reenacted by section 149 of division C of the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999 (Public Law 105-277), and as in effect on December 31, 2003, is hereby reenacted.

(2) Effective date of reenactment.--Paragraph (1) shall take effect on January 1, 2004.

(b) Amendments--Chapter 12 of title 11, United States Code, as reenacted by subsection (a), is amended by this Act.

(c) Conforming Amendment.--Section 302 of the Bankruptcy Judges, United States Trustees, and Family Farmer Bankruptcy Act of 1986 (28 U.S.C. 581 note) is amended by striking subsection (f).

In section 1201--

(1) strike paragraph (2) and insert the following:

(2) in each paragraph (other than paragraph (54A)), by inserting “The term” after the paragraph designation;

and

(2) strike paragraph (7) and insert the following:

(7) in paragraph (54A)--

(A) by striking “the term” and inserting “The term”; and

(B) by indenting the left margin of paragraph (54A) 2 ems to the right; and

Strike titles XIV and XV, and insert the following:

TITLE XIV--PREVENTING CORPORATE BANKRUPTCY ABUSE

SEC. 1401. EMPLOYEE WAGE AND BENEFIT PRIORITIES.

Section 507(a) of title 11, United States Code, as amended by section 212, is amended--

(1) in paragraph (4) by striking “90” and inserting “180”, and

(2) in paragraphs (4) and (5) by striking “$4,000” and inserting “$10,000”.

SEC. 1402. FRAUDULENT TRANSFERS AND OBLIGATIONS.

Section 548 of title 11, United States Code, is amended--

(1) in subsections (a) and (b) by striking “one year” and inserting “2 years”,

(2) in subsection (a)--

(A) by inserting “(including any transfer to or for the benefit of an insider under an employment contract)” after “transfer” the 1st place it appears, and

(B) by inserting “(including any obligation to or for the benefit of an insider under an employment contract)” after “obligation” the 1st place it appears, and

(3) in subsection (a)(1)(B)(ii)--

(A) in subclause (II) by striking “or” at the end,

(B) in subclause (III) by striking the period at the end and inserting “; or”, and

(C) by adding at the end the following:

“(IV) made such transfer to or for the benefit of an insider, or incurred such obligation to or for the benefit of an insider, under an employment contract and not in the ordinary course of business.”.

SEC. 1403. PAYMENT OF INSURANCE BENEFITS TO RETIRED EMPLOYEES.

Section 1114 of title 11, United States Code, is amended--

(1) by redesignating subsection (l) as subsection (m), and

(2) by inserting after subsection (k) the following:

“(l) If the debtor, during the 180-day period ending on the date of the filing of the petition--

“(1) modified retiree benefits; and

“(2) was insolvent on the date such benefits were modified;

the court, on motion of a party in interest, and after notice and a hearing, shall issue an order reinstating as of the date the modification was made, such benefits as in effect immediately before such date unless the court finds that the balance of the equities clearly favors such modification.”.

SEC. 1404. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION OF AMENDMENTS.

(a) Effective Date.--Except as provided in subsection (b), this title and the amendments made by this title shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.

(b) Application of Amendments.--

(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the amendments made by this title shall apply only with respect to cases commenced under title 11 of the United States Code on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.

(2) Avoidance period.--The amendment made by section 1402(1) shall apply only with respect to cases commenced under title 11 of the United States Code more than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act.

TITLE XV--GENERAL EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION OF AMENDMENTS

SEC. 1501. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION OF AMENDMENTS.

(a) Effective Date.--Except as otherwise provided in this Act, this Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

(b) Application of Amendments.--

(1) In general.--Except as otherwise provided in this Act and paragraph (2), the amendments made by this Act shall not apply with respect to cases commenced under title 11, United States Code, before the effective date of this Act.

(2) Certain limitations applicable to debtors.--The amendments made by sections 308, 322, and 330 shall apply with respect to cases commenced under title 11, United States Code, on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 1502. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.

(a) Conforming Amendments to Title 11 of the United States Code.--Title 11 of the United States Code, as amended by the preceding provisions of this Act, is amended--

(1) in section 507--

(A) in subsection (a)--

(i) in paragraph (5)(B)(ii) by striking “paragraph (3)” and inserting “paragraph (4)”; and

(ii) in paragraph (8)(D) by striking “paragraph (3)” and inserting “paragraph (4)”;

(B) in subsection (b) by striking “subsection (a)(1)” and inserting “subsection (a)(2)”; and

(C) in subsection (d) by striking “subsection (a)(3)” and inserting “subsection (a)(1)”;

(2) in section 523(a)(1)(A) by striking “507(a)(2)” and inserting “507(a)(3)”;

(3) in section 752(a) by striking “507(a)(1)” and inserting “507(a)(2)”;

(4) in section 766--

(A) in subsection (h) by striking “507(a)(1)” and inserting “507(a)(2)”; and

(B) in subsection (i) by striking “507(a)(1)” each place it appears and inserting “507(a)(2)”;

(5) in section 901(a) by striking “507(a)(1)” and inserting “507(a)(2)”;

(6) in section 943(b)(5) by striking “507(a)(1)” and inserting “507(a)(2)”;

(7) in section 1123(a)(1) by striking “507(a)(1), 507(a)(2)” and inserting “507(a)(2), 507(a)(3)”;

(8) in section 1129(a)(9)--

(A) in subparagraph (A) by striking “507(a)(1) or 507(a)(2)” and inserting “507(a)(2) or 507(a)(3)”; and

(B) in subparagraph (B) by striking “507(a)(3)” and inserting “507(a)(1)”;

(9) in section 1226(b)(1) by striking “507(a)(1)” and inserting “507(a)(2)”; and

(10) in section 1326(b)(1) by striking “507(a)(1)” and inserting “507(a)(2)”.

(b) Related Conforming Amendment.--Section 6(e) of the Securities Investor Protection Act of 1970 (15 U.S.C. 78fff(e)) is amended by striking “507(a)(1)” and inserting “507(a)(2)”.

In the table of contents strike the items relating to titles XIV and XV, and insert the following items:

TITLE XIV--PREVENTING CORPORATE BANKRUPTCY ABUSE

Sec. 1401. Employee wage and benefit priorities.

Sec. 1402. Fraudulent transfers and obligations.

Sec. 1403. Payment of insurance benefits to retired employees.

Sec. 1404. Effective date; application of amendments.

TITLE XV--GENERAL EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION OF AMENDMENTS

Sec. 1501. Effective date; application of amendments.

Sec. 1502. Technical corrections.