mr. speaker , the passing of this bill would be a complete detriment to the american people . 
for many americans find themselves , usually through no fault of their own , facing bankruptcy . 
this scenario could happen to almost anyone . 
mr. speaker , the main reasons americans file for bankruptcy is not to abuse the system and avoid paying their bills . 
americans file for bankruptcy usually due to catastrophic medical expenses , divorce , or the loss of their jobs . 
many important , common-sense amendments on subjects such as alimony , child support , exemptions for medical emergencies , and job loss , underage credit card lending , predatory lending and protection for disabled veterans , just to name a few , were all rejected by the judiciary committee . 
mr. speaker , amendments should have been made to this bill to carve out exemptions for certain basic needs so americans can still have some equity or resources should they be forced into bankruptcy . 
more specifically , one loophole in the bankruptcy bill leaves the victims of domestic violence and their children left with no resources should they file for bankruptcy . 
this is so unfair . 
the bill should have been allowed to be modified to secure better protection for domestic abuse victims by granting them relief from summary eviction from their houses . 
please note , this relief would have only been available if a domestic violence debtor is certified , under penalty of perjury , that the debtor was in fact a victim of domestic abuse and that their physical well-being or the physical well-being of the debtor 's child would be threatened if this debtor were evicted . 
mr. speaker , this amendment would have provided a safe harbor for those victims who faced the great threat of more violence and extreme danger if their homes are taken as a result of bankruptcy . 
we also tried to do something about this underage credit card lending . 
it is a travesty . 
these credit card companies set up on the college campuses . 
they have vendors from the day these kids walk into college . 
they send them all of this unsolicited mail , and they telephone them unrelentlessly to get them involved in taking these credit cards . 
they do it . 
they run up the debt . 
some of them are now 30 , 35 years old , out of college for years , still paying on these credit cards because they allowed their minimum payments that do not even take into account all of the interest on the debt . 
it is outright unreasonable that we did not have an amendment allowed by my friends on the opposite side of the aisle to try and protect families and future young families from this kind of exploitation . 
also , i want to point out that the means test includes disaster assistance and veterans benefits . 
this is a rip-off . 
