The Bankruptcy Reform Bill of 2001 is a necessary
reform to the current bankruptcy law. Starting with the
first bankruptcy laws, the policies of honesty and cooperation
have appeared consistently through all of the
bankruptcy legislation. Good public policy dictates that a
person who can repay some of their debt should be
required to do so. The current bankruptcy laws are too
open to interpretation, which allows for abuse of the
system. The abuse of the system leads to higher costs
spread out amongst consumers and general animosity by
the public toward the bankruptcy laws.
Without reform, bankruptcy will become a more
frequently used solution to debt problems, rather than a
last resort. The provisions in the Reform Bill that deal
with consumer protection and the other abuses of the
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system are also necessary. Overall, the Reform Bill addresses
the important problem areas of the current system
and attempts to adopt a uniform treatment for everyone.
This conformity in application is a vast improvement
over the haphazard approach of the bankruptcy
laws of today that allow abuse and discrepancy to be
rampant throughout the system. Passing the Bankruptcy
Reform Bill of 2001 is necessary to implement many of
the changes that the bankruptcy system needs to flourish
and help those in need.