Last week I asked how anyone could be opposed to giving a small break to the victims of Hurricane Katrina in the form of relief from the new provisions in the bankruptcy amendments. After all, these aren’t the people who the credit industry claimed to be targeting. These are people who have lost homes, cars, and jobs. They don’t need the credit counseling required by the new law, they may not be able to find the six months of pay stubs required by the law, and they shouldn’t be saddled with the extra litigation and uncertainty that this complex new statute imposes. So why not delay the new law for these people?
David Donnelly gives one reason: James Sensenbrenner, the chief supporter of the bankruptcy bill in the House, owns nearly a quarter of a million dollars in bank and credit card stocks. The bankruptcy bill was written by the credit industry lobbyists to help the credit industry; delay, even for a few thousand Katrina victims, costs the industry money.
To be fair, I should note that Mr. Sensenbrenner is one of only 11 members of Congress who voted against providing $52 billion in aid to the relief effort, so denying relief to hurricane victims a second time might fit with his general approach.
I should also note that Mr. Sensenbrenner is reported to be working hard to protect companies from liability for the clean up and relief effort, so putting business interests ahead of families might also be part of his general approach.
I don’t know his motivations, but in a world in which appearances matter, this looks like a rotten form of self-dealing, an effort to profit himself and the corporations he invests in at the expense of people who have lost everything.
Help me out here, readers. If I have this wrong, tell me a better reason why Mr. Sensenbrenner is blocking relief to victims of Katrina.
