BANKRUPTCY REFORM Lobbying for Morality? The

It should be noted that this measure is in fact a partial reversal of previous reforms that ameliorated the punitive effect of bankruptcy law. In the more distant past, bankruptcy law was exceedingly severe. In the English legal tradition, inherited by the United States, bankruptcy was treated under the Statute of Frauds, dating to 1677. The default assumption was that the bankrupt person had borrowed money without intention to pay it back. Hence the institution of debtors' prison, which persisted well into the 19th century.

The banking and credit card industries had been pushing for this bill since the mid-1990s, and a version passed Congress only to be vetoed by President Clinton. Though supported from the outset by President Bush, no bill reached his desk during his first term, but he made it a second-term priori

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Approximate Word count = 1196
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)