Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2003

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2465) to extend for six months the period for which chapter 12 of title 11 of the United States Code is reenacted.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 2465.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2465, the Family Farmers Bankruptcy Relief Act of 2003.

Earlier this year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that certain parts of our Nation, particularly the western and Great Plains States, were experiencing ``one of the worst droughts in 108 years.'' Other parts of the country, like the Northeast, are currently enduring seemingly unending days of rainy weather.

While bad weather may be merely an inconvenience for some of us, uncontrollable weather conditions represent just one of the many difficult challenges that confront family farmers. Like many small businesses, family farmers must also endure and react to rising energy costs, volatile marketplace conditions, and increasing competition from larger businesses. Unfortunately, these economic forces can negatively affect the financial stability of the family farmer.

In response to the particularized needs of family farmers in financial distress, chapter 12 of the Bankruptcy Code was enacted in 1986 as a part of the Bankruptcy Judges, United States Trustees, and Family Farmer Bankruptcy Act. Although originally enacted on a temporary basis to address the farming crisis of the 1980s, chapter 12 has been extended on nine occasions in recognition of the vital relief it offers to family farmers in financial distress. Unless further extended, chapter 12 will sunset at the end of this month.

It is crucial that this specialized form of bankruptcy relief for family farmers not be allowed to sunset for two fundamental reasons. First, family farmers, absent chapter 12, would be forced to file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code's other alternatives, none of which work as well for them as does chapter 12.

Chapter VII of the Bankruptcy Code, for instance, would require a farmer to liquidate; that is, sell the family farm to pay the claims of the farmer's creditors. Many farmers would be precluded from choosing bankruptcy relief under chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code because of its restrictive eligibility standards. Furthermore, Chapter XI, the Bankruptcy Code's business reorganization alternative, is not farmer- friendly in various respects, as it often entails an expensive and time-consuming process that does not readily accommodate the special needs of farmers.

Second, recent statistics demonstrate that there is not only a continuing need for chapter 12, but that this need is apparently increasing. According to the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, chapter 12 bankruptcy filings jumped by more than 62 percent over the past year. I introduced H.R. 2465 to extend chapter 12 for an additional 6 months through December 31, 2003, and thereby maintain the status quo while the Congress completes its consideration of comprehensive bankruptcy reform.

As my colleagues may recall, last March the House overwhelmingly

passed H.R. 975, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2003, which is now awaiting consideration in the other body. H.R. 965 contains many farmer-friendly provisions that would make chapter 12 a permanent fixture of the Bankruptcy Code for family farmers and generally make it easier for farmers in financial distress to be eligible for this form of bankruptcy relief. In addition, H.R. 975 would raise the debt limit and lower the income threshold so that many more family farmers could avail themselves of chapter 12. Also, this bill, for the first time, would extend the benefits of this specialized form of bankruptcy relief to family fishermen.

It is my sincere hope that in the very near future, we will see comprehensive bankruptcy reform legislation finally enacted, together with the permanent extension of chapter 12. Thus, I urge my colleagues to vote for H.R. 2465.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter).

(Mr. BEREUTER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of the time.

Mr. Speaker, no one is as frustrated as I am at the lack of progress on the overall bankruptcy reform bill, which is comprehensive and which will make this economy work better and more efficiently, particularly for those people who pay their bills and obligations on time. Without the overall bankruptcy reform bill being enacted into law, there will be those that use bankruptcy reform as a financial planning tool. That is absolutely wrong. Bankruptcy should exist for people and organizations that are genuinely down and out and who need to go through bankruptcy in order to get a fresh start, and the bill that is in the other body which this House passed by an overwhelming margin does just that.

I can understand the desire of people who are opposed to an overall bankruptcy reform bill to try to cherry-pick the popular items out of it and pass them piecemeal so that their opposition will end up sinking the overall bankruptcy reform bill once and for all. I do not go along with that, and I do not think the majority of this House will either.

The reason we have a temporary extension of chapter 12 here is to make sure that these protections for family farmers are maintained. But if chapter 12 and other issues are cherry-picked out, then the $44 billion a year of debt that is written off in bankruptcy will be passed on to those who pay their bills, including farmers who pay their bills in the form of higher goods and services.

That is why the overall bankruptcy reform bill ought to be enacted into law. And while the gentlewoman from Wisconsin might be prepared to give up on that issue, I am not, and that is why this bill is a temporary extension. We are going to do the job that needs to be done for the farmers today, and then, hopefully, later on this year, when the other body passes the overall bankruptcy reform bill, we will be able to do the job that needs to be done for people who pay their bills on time and, as agreed, to prevent this huge shift of costs from those who do not pay their bills to those who do.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, chapter 12 bankruptcy protection expires in 7 days. Once again, we are forced to approve a temporary extension of this vital protection.

Since I was first elected to Congress just 4\1/2\ years ago, we have passed seven temporary extensions of this bill. It is high time that we make this very noncontroversial program permanent. That is the bill we should be debating and passing today.

Mr. Speaker, chapter 12 provides an important backstop for our Nation's struggling family farmers by allowing them to reorganize their debts and keep their farms. What we do here in Washington directly affects the lives of real people facing real financial challenges.

I want to try to put a human face on this issue. In Wisconsin recently, a Columbus, Wisconsin farmer filed for chapter 12 bankruptcy. He works night and day to make his farm a success. Unfortunately, like many farmers, the weather and the market conspired to disrupt his cash flow. Filing chapter 12 gave his family time to negotiate with his creditors, while he switched from corn and soybean production to vegetable production, with local market sales. He sells his produce at farmers' markets in the Cities of Madison and Princeton. He is paying his debts. Under chapter 12, it was not only the Columbus farmer that benefited. His creditors got their money, and the people in my district can purchase his bounty.

Chapter 12 does not just provide a direct benefit to those using its protections. Many farmers who face possible bankruptcy never get to a court filing. The very existence of the option of filing for chapter 12 bankruptcy promotes negotiations between farmers and their creditors.

There is a great consensus that chapter 12 bankruptcy protections work well. It is for that reason that we have included a permanent authorization in the comprehensive bankruptcy reform bill for the past three sessions of Congress. In fact, it is considered so popular that it has been held hostage to the larger bill. Every time we come to the floor to extend chapter 12, we are told that permanent extension cannot be passed separately from the big bill because taking out a popular item might slow that bill's momentum. We were told we had to strip the permanent extension of chapter 12 from last year's farm bill because it would slow down the bankruptcy bill. Well, here we are again, passing yet another temporary extension, and still the permanent extension languishes with about as much momentum as the continental drift.

Mr. Speaker, the House should pass this bill today, and I urge my colleagues to do just that. But we should also be voting on making chapter 12 permanent. Let us end these uncertainties that the extension causes. Let us end this chapter 12 extension dance.

Since the current authorization will expire within a few days, farmers do need the immediate relief provided by this extension. With the current year's crops in the ground, farmers need to know that they can reorganize and keep their farming operations. This bill would provide the security that family farmers in financial crisis need to decide whether to stay in business for one more year.

I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2465.

Mr. Speaker, this Member rises today to express his support for H.R. 2465, which extends Chapter 12 bankruptcy for family farms and ranches to January 1, 2004. Chapter 12 bankruptcy once again is set to expire on July 1, 2003. This legislation is very important to the nation's agriculture sector.

This Member would express his appreciation to the distinguished gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Sensenbrenner), the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, for introducing H.R. 2465. In addition, this Member would like to express his appreciation to the distinguished gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Smith) for his efforts in getting this measure to the House Floor for consideration.

This extension of Chapter 12 bankruptcy is supported by this Member as it allows family farmers to reorganize their debts as compared to liquidating their assets. The use of the Chapter 12 bankruptcy provision has been an important and necessary option for family farmers throughout the nation. It has allowed family farmers to reorganize their assets in a manner which balances the interests of creditors and the future success of the involved farmer.

If Chapter 12 bankruptcy provisions are not extended for family farmers, it will be another very painful blow to an agricultural sector already reeling from low commodity prices. Not only will many family farmers have no viable option other than to end their operations, but it will also cause land values to likely plunge. Such a decrease in value of farmland will negatively affect the ability of family farmers to earn a living. In addition, the resulting decrease in farmland value will impact the manner in which banks conduct their agricultural lending activities. Furthermore, this Member has received many contacts from his constituents supporting the extension of Chapter 12 bankruptcy because of the situation now being faced by our nation's farm families--it is clear that the agricultural sector in hurting.

In closing, this Member urges his colleagues to support H.R. 2465.