[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[S. 3197 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
S.3197
One Hundred Tenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Thursday,
the third day of January, two thousand and eight
An Act
A bill to amend title 11, United States Code, to exempt for a limited
period, from the application of the means-test presumption of abuse
under chapter 7, qualifying members of reserve components of the Armed
Forces and members of the National Guard who, after September 11, 2001,
are called to active duty or to perform a homeland defense activity for
not less than 90 days.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``National Guard and Reservists Debt
Relief Act of 2008''.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS.
Section 707(b)(2)(D) of title 11, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in clauses (i) and (ii)--
(A) by indenting the left margin of such clauses 2 ems to
the right, and
(B) by redesignating such clauses as subclauses (I) and
(II), respectively,
(2) by striking ``testing, if the debtor is a disabled
veteran'' and inserting the following:
``testing--
``(i) if the debtor is a disabled veteran'',
(3) by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; or'',
and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
``(ii) with respect to the debtor, while the debtor is--
``(I) on, and during the 540-day period beginning
immediately after the debtor is released from, a period of
active duty (as defined in section 101(d)(1) of title 10) of
not less than 90 days; or
``(II) performing, and during the 540-day period beginning
immediately after the debtor is no longer performing, a
homeland defense activity (as defined in section 901(1) of
title 32) performed for a period of not less than 90 days;
if after September 11, 2001, the debtor while a member of a reserve
component of the Armed Forces or a member of the National Guard,
was called to such active duty or performed such homeland defense
activity.''.
SEC. 3. GAO STUDY.
(a) Comptroller General Study.--Not later than 2 years after the
effective date of this Act, the Comptroller General shall complete and
transmit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the
President pro tempore of the Senate, a study of the use and the effects
of the provisions of law amended (and as amended) by this Act. Such
study shall address, at a minimum--
(1) whether and to what degree members of reserve components of
the Armed Forces and members of the National Guard avail themselves
of the benefits of such provisions,
(2) whether and to what degree such members are debtors in
cases under title 11 of the United States Code that are
substantially related to service that qualifies such members for
the benefits of such provisions,
(3) whether and to what degree such members are debtors in
cases under such title that are materially related to such service,
and
(4) the effects that the use by such members of section
707(b)(2)(D) of such title, as amended by this Act, has on the
bankruptcy system, creditors, and the debt-incurrence practices of
such members.
(b) Factors.--For purposes of subsection (a)--
(1) a case shall be considered to be substantially related to
the service of a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces
or a member of the National Guard that qualifies such member for
the benefits of the provisions of law amended (and as amended) by
this Act if more than 33 percent of the aggregate amount of the
debts in such case is incurred as a direct or indirect result of
such service,
(2) a case shall be considered to be materially related to the
service of a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces or a
member of the National Guard that qualifies such member for the
benefits of such provisions if more than 10 percent of the
aggregate amount of the debts in such case is incurred as a direct
or indirect result of such service, and
(3) the term ``effects'' means--
(A) with respect to the bankruptcy system and creditors--
(i) the number of cases under title 11 of the United
States Code in which members of reserve components of the
Armed Forces and members of the National Guard avail
themselves of the benefits of such provisions,
(ii) the aggregate amount of debt in such cases,
(iii) the aggregate amount of debt of such members
discharged in cases under chapter 7 of such title,
(iv) the aggregate amount of debt of such members in
cases under chapter 7 of such title as of the time such
cases are converted to cases under chapter 13 of such
title,
(v) the amount of resources expended by the bankruptcy
courts and by the bankruptcy trustees, stated separately,
in cases under title 11 of the United States Code in which
such members avail themselves of the benefits of such
provisions, and
(vi) whether and to what extent there is any indicia of
abuse or potential abuse of such provisions, and
(B) with respect to debt-incurrence practices--
(i) any increase in the average levels of debt incurred
by such members before, during, or after such service,
(ii) any indicia of changes in debt-incurrence
practices adopted by such members in anticipation of
benefitting from such provisions in any potential case
under such title; and
(iii) any indicia of abuse or potential abuse of such
provisions reflected in the debt-incurrence of such
members.
SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION OF AMENDMENTS.
(a) Effective Date.--Except as provided in subsection (b), this Act
and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect 60 days after the
date of enactment of this Act.
(b) Application of Amendments.--The amendments made by this Act
shall apply only with respect to cases commenced under title 11 of the
United States Code in the 3-year period beginning on the effective date
of this Act.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.