mr. speaker , i thank the gentleman for yielding me this time . 
mr. speaker , this bill is the worst giveaway to special interests , the worst rip-off of the public , of the middle class than i have ever seen in my public life . 
the people who understand how bankruptcy law functions in the real world , the scholars , judges , trustees and lawyers , whether they represent debtors , creditors , businesses or individuals , have all told us this bill will not work , that it will be costly , and that it will produce unfair and irrational results . 
but we are ignoring them , trusting instead lobbyists , credit card companies , banks , and anyone else who wants a special favor ; and , boy , are there special favors galore . 
the credit card companies are the big winners , but so are shopping centers , car lenders , crooked debt collectors , investment bankers , credit unions , and assorted sub-prime lenders . 
those credit counseling operations that we have investigated for dishonest activity , they now get a monopoly on granting access to bankruptcy . 
credit card companies that want their debts to survive the bankruptcy and compete with child support claims , they get their wish . 
landlords who want to boot tenants out of their apartments , it is easier . 
did you buy a trailer home or a car on credit ? 
now you will have to pay the lender more than the home or car is worth to keep it . 
are you a tax collector ? 
there is an entire title in the bill just to squeeze more money out of debtors . 
are you a pawnbroker ? 
section 1230 is for you . 
you get to keep the pawned property , and it can not be sold to pay other debts like child support or medical expenses . 
that is right . 
congress is more worried about the rights of pawnbrokers than about the rights of children . 
so what is going on here ? 
why are bankers and bureaucrats telling us this bill is great for single parents with children while children and family advocates are telling us that it is not ? 
why does congress believe studies paid for by the credit card industry that label millions of americans crooks , while ignoring our own congressional budget office , the independent and nonpartisan american bankruptcy institute , and the government accountability office , all say these studies are bunk ? 
the supporters say if we help the banks collect more money from bankrupt families , we will not have to pay that $ 400 bankruptcy tax . 
our interest rates will go down because the banks will be able to collect more money . 
but the republican leadership would not allow us to consider an amendment that would sunset the bill in several years if no savings are passed on to consumers , and they will not be . 
interest rates have come down over the last 10 years on mortgages , on cars , on everything , but not on credit cards . 
does anyone here trust visa and mastercard ? 
because we are writing them a blank check paid for with taxpayer money and trusting them to share the benefits with american consumers . 
trust the banks . 
trust the lobbyists . 
do not trust the people who do these cases for a living . 
do not trust the advocates for women and kids . 
do not trust the civil rights community . 
do not trust the laboring community . 
do not trust disabled veterans and military family advocates . 
do not trust crime victims organizations . 
trust the banks . 
trust the credit card companies . 
trust visa card . 
trust mastercard . 
they are the beneficiaries . 
the public will be the victims , and we will rue the day in a few years when the 60 or 70 different ways in which this bill enables the credit card companies to stick their hands in the pockets of low- and middle-income people and extremists going bankrupt because of a medical emergency , and take more money out of that . 
then the voters will know who really owns this place . 
mr. speaker , this bill is the worst giveaway to special interests , the worst rip-off of the public , of the middle class , i have ever seen in my public life . 
mr. speaker , it is fitting that this house take up this 512-page goodie bag for every special interest in town . 
just yesterday , the republican majority rammed through a bill that would eliminate the estate tax for the very wealthiest americans . 
at least the republican majority is consistent : more for the very wealthy , no responsibility for big banks , and squeeze the middle class . 
this bill , which can only be described as the poster-child for campaign finance reform , will soon shoot through this house and to a president who has vowed that he would sign it . 
mr. speaker , bankruptcy is notoriously complicated , but the members of this house have certainly never let the complexity of a problem get in the way of a good deal . 
the people who understand how bankruptcy law functions in the real world : the scholars , judges , trustees , and lawyers -- whether they represent debtors , creditors , businesses or individuals -- have all told us this bill wo n't work , that it will be costly , that it will produce unfair and irrational results . 
but we are ignoring them , trusting instead lobbyists , credit card companies , banks , and anyone else who wants some special favor . 
and boy , are there favors galore . 
the credit card companies are the big winners , but so are shopping centers , car lenders , crooked debt collectors , investment bankers , credit unions , and assorted sub-prime lenders . 
those credit counseling operations that we 've investigated for dishonest activity ? 
they now get a monopoly on granting access to bankruptcy . 
credit card companies that want their debts to survive the bankruptcy and compete with child support claims ? 
they get their wish ? 
landlords who want to boot tenants out of their apartments ? 
this bill makes it easier . 
did you buy a trailer home or a car on credit ? 
now you will have to pay the lender more than the home or car is worth to keep it . 
are you a tax collector ? 
there is an entire title in this bill just for you to squeeze more money out of debtors . 
are you a pawn broker ? 
section 1230 is for you ! 
you get to keep the pawned property and it ca n't be sold to pay other debts , like child support , or medical expenses . 
that 's right , congress is more worried about the rights of pawn brokers than about the rights of children . 
so what 's going on here ? 
why are bankers and bureaucrats telling us that this bill is great for single parents with children while children and family advocates are telling us that it is not ? 
more to the point -- why are so many members of congress so willing to believe bankers over the people who we work with day in and day out to protect the rights of children ? 
why does congress believe studies paid for by the credit card industry that label millions of americans crooks , while ignoring our own congressional budget office , the independent and non-partisan american bankruptcy institute , and the government accountability office , all of whom tell us these studies are bunk ? 
why are we willing to spend so much public money to collect private debts for banks ? 
according to the congressional budget office , this bill will cost the government $ 392 million over the first 5 years , increasing the deficit by $ 280 million . 
it will impose new costs on the private sector of more than $ 123 million per year , in violation of the unfunded mandate reform act . 
that number does not include increased costs to debtors . 
what are we spending this money on ? 
means testing alone will cost the government $ 150 million over the first 5 years . 
the government will be a private collection agency for credit card companies . 
government funded audits will cost $ 66 million . 
the government will collect and store debtors ' tax returns for another $ 10 million . 
just to administer this whole mess , we will spend another $ 26 million on extra judges -- and no one here thinks that will be enough . 
so why should taxpayers spend all these millions to collect private debts for mastercard and visa ? 
i asked george wallace , the representative of the creditor coalition , that question . 
i asked whether he was aware that current law gives creditors the right to challenge the discharge of debts , examine debtors under oath , demand any documents from the debtors , seek dismissal of a case , and many other legal remedies . 
he said `` i have done these things and they do take a fair amount of time and i bill my clients for them . 
they are expensive. '' so i asked him why the government should pay to collect these debts if the banks think it 's too expensive to collect their debts themselves . 
his response explains this whole bill . 
`` because it 's a governmental program , sir . 
because it is not the job of the creditor. '' a governmental program ? 
we need to spend millions of taxpayer dollars to help the nation 's biggest banks collect money from bankrupt families ? 
is this the new welfare ? 
i want to thank mr. wallace for his honesty . 
he may be the only honest lobbyist left in washington . 
some will say that if we help the banks collect more money from bankrupt families , then we wo n't have to pay that $ 400 `` bankruptcy tax. '' our interest rates will go down because the banks will be able to collect more money . 
the distinguished chairman of the judiciary committee has made this the cornerstone of the legislation . 
he recently told the financial times of london , `` the responsible thing for the credit card issuers to do would be to reduce interest rates because there is less risk . 
if they do n't they will play into the hands of the opponents of the bill -- it would reduce their credibility. '' i agree , but the republican leadership would n't allow us to consider an amendment that would sunset the bill in 2 years if no savings are passed on to consumers . 
so i guess we 're being asked to trust the biggest banks in america not to pocket the extra money . 
and they wo n't be . 
interest rates have come down . 
mortgage rates , car loans , but not credit card rates . 
ask yourself : where 's my $ 400 ? 
does any one here trust visa and mastercard ? 
because you are writing them a blank check , paid for with taxpayer money , and trusting them to share the benefits with american consumers . 
anyone who really trust them to do this , raise your hand . 
anyone ? 
go ahead and vote for this . 
why not ? 
it 's a done deal . 
trust the banks . 
trust the lobbyists . 
do n't trust the people who do these cases for a living . 
do n't trust the advocates for women and kids . 
do n't trust the civil rights community . 
do n't trust labor . 
do n't trust disabled veterans ' and military family advocates . 
do n't trust crime victims organizations . 
trust the banks . 
trust visa . 
trust mastercard . 
at least the voters will know who really runs this place . 
