mr. chairman , i rise in support of s. 256 , the bankruptcy abuse prevention and consumer protection act .  it is a basic principle of commerce in our country that when a person makes an obligation to pay someone for a good or service , they do so .  we ought to address the fact that our nation had over 1.6 million bankruptcy filings last year , and an estimated $ 44 billion in debts are discharged annually .  when creditors are unable to collect money owed to them , we all pay the cost in the form of higher costs , higher interest rates and higher downpayments .  i want to be very clear that this legislation will not prevent those who have incurred oppressive indebtedness from filing .  it will apply a means test that weighs whether a debtor has enough disposable income to repay creditors .  if , after applying this test , the debtor has little or no disposable income , they will be able to file for straight bankruptcy just as they always have .  those who earn wages and have the ability to repay , however , will be required to file for chapter 13 bankruptcy , restructure their debt and repay a portion of it .  i have heard from a number of my constituents concerned about high credit card rates , predatory loan practices and identity theft .  i share their concern and believe that after passing this legislation today , we must redouble our efforts to pass legislation curbing predatory lending , and we must build on the legislation we passed during the last congress regarding identity theft .  this is comprehensive legislation and while supporting its passage , this body should pledge strong oversight and the willingness to review its effect on bankruptcy filers and the economy at large .  