mr. speaker , i thank the gentleman from georgia for yielding me time . 
i rise in support of the rule for consideration of s. 256 , the bankruptcy abuse prevention and consumer protection act of 2005 . 
this bill consists of a comprehensive package of reform measures that will improve bankruptcy law and practice by restoring personal responsibility and integrity to the bankruptcy system . 
it will also ensure that the system is fair for both debtors and creditors . 
as we now consider this rule , and the legislation later today , i believe it is particularly important to keep in mind bankruptcy reform 's extensive deliberative history before the committee on rules , the committee on the judiciary , and both bodies of congress , which i would like to briefly summarize . 
first , the bill represents the culmination of nearly 8 years of intense and detailed congressional consideration . 
the house , for example , has passed prior iterations of this legislation on eight separate occasions . 
likewise , the other body has repeatedly registered its strong support for bankruptcy reform . 
just last month , the bill passed there 74 to 25 , marking the fifth time that body has overwhelmingly adopted bankruptcy reform legislation since 1998 . 
second , s. 256 has benefited immensely from an extensive hearing and amendment process , as well as meaningful bipartisan and bicameral negotiations . 
over the past four congresses , the committee on the judiciary has held 18 hearings on the need for bankruptcy reform , 11 of which focused on s. 256 's predecessors . 
the senate judiciary committee likewise has held 11 hearings on bankruptcy reform , including a hearing held earlier this year . 
in the 105th congress , 4 days were devoted to the committee on the judiciary 's markup of bankruptcy reform legislation . 
in the 106th congress alone , the committee on the judiciary entertained 59 amendments over the course of a 5-day markup on bankruptcy reform legislation , which included 29 recorded votes . 
on the floor , 11 more amendments were considered . 
in the 107th congress , the committee on the judiciary considered 18 amendments during the course of its markup of bankruptcy reform legislation , and the house , thereafter , considered five amendments . 
in the last congress , the committee on the judiciary entertained nine amendments to the bill , and five amendments were considered on the house floor . 
also in the last congress , the committee on rules made two amendments in order in connection with a similar bill , addressing bankruptcy reform , which was considered on the floor . 
last month , the committee on the judiciary entertained 23 more amendments , each of which has been soundly defeated . 
mr. speaker , i have over here the paper record of the house consideration of bankruptcy reform legislation over the last four congresses . 
here 's the committee report on this bill , over 500 pages long . 
we have a copy of the house version of the bill , which is over 500 pages long . 
we have the committee report from 2003 . 
we have a conference report from the 107th congress . 
we have a committee report from the 107th congress . 
we have a committee report from the 106th congress . 
we have a committee report earlier in the 106th congress , one from the 105th congress , and then we have a committee report from the 105th congress on the house side . 
all of these are debates in the & lt ; /em & gt ; & lt ; em & gt ; congressional record when this bill has come up , and we have had conference reports filed , amendments filed , original bills filed . 
there has been plenty of process on this legislation . 
the time to pass it is now , and that is why this rule is coming up in the way it is structured the way it is . 
mr. speaker , i thank the gentleman for yielding again for the time . 
mr. speaker , i rise in support of this rule for consideration of s. 256 , the `` bankruptcy abuse prevention and consumer protection act of 2005. '' s. 256 consists of a comprehensive package of reform measures that will improve bankruptcy law and practice by restoring personal responsibility and integrity to the bankruptcy system . 
it will also ensure that the system is fair for both debtors and creditors . 
as we now consider this rule , and the legislation later today , i believe it is particularly important to keep in mind bankruptcy reform 's extensive deliberative history before the rules committee , the judiciary committee , and both bodies of congress , which i would like to briefly summarize for you . 
first , s. 256 represents the culmination of nearly 8 years of intense and detailed congressional consideration . 
the house , for example , has passed prior iterations of this legislation on eight separate occasions . 
likewise , the other body has repeatedly registered its strong support for bankruptcy reform . 
just last month , they passed s. 256 by a vote of 74 to 25 , making the fifth time that body has overwhelmingly adopted bankruptcy reform legislation since 1998 . 
second , s. 256 has benefitted immensely from an exhaustive hearing and amendment process as well as meaningful bipartisan , bicameral negotiations . 
over the past four congresses , the judiciary committee held 18 hearings on the need for bankruptcy reform , 11 of which focused on s. 256 's predecessors . 
the senate judiciary committee , likewise , has held 11 hearings on bankruptcy reform , including a hearing held earlier this year . 
in the 105th congress , 4 days were devoted to the judiciary committee 's mark up of bankruptcy reform legislation . 
in the 106th congress alone , the judiciary committee entertained 59 amendments over the course of a 5-day markup of bankruptcy reform legislation , which included 29 recorded votes . 
on the floor , 11 more amendments were considered . 
in the 107th congress , the judiciary committee considered 18 amendments during the course of its markup of bankruptcy reform legislation , and the house , thereafter , considered five amendments . 
in the last congress , the judiciary committee entertained nine amendments to the bankruptcy legislation and 5 amendments were considered on the house floor . 
also in the last congress , the rules committee made two amendments in order in connection with a similar bill , addressing bankruptcy reform , which was considered on the floor . 
last month , the judiciary committee entertained 23 more amendments , each of which was soundly defeated . 
third , it must be remembered that s. 256 is a result of extensive bipartisan and bicameral negotiation and compromise . 
for example , conferees during the 106th congress spent nearly 7 months engaged in an informal conference to reconcile differences between the house and senate passed versions of bankruptcy reform legislation . 
in the 107th congress , conferees formally met on three occasions and ultimately agreed -- after an 11-month period of negotiations -- to a bipartisan conference report . 
the legislation before us today represents a delicate balance and various compromises that have been struck over the past 7 years . 
fourth , and perhaps most importantly , the need for bankruptcy reform is long-overdue and should not be further delayed . 
every day that passes by without these reforms , more abuse and fraud goes undetected . 
mr. speaker , there simply is no reason to further amend this legislation given its uniquely extensive deliberative record . 
those who come to the floor today and complain about lack of process or the need to further refine this legislation -- simply oppose bankruptcy reform . 
accordingly , i believe this rule is appropriate , and urge members to support it . 
