Sen. Biden and his vote on the Bankruptcy Bill

ginchinchili

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Sun Nov-18-07 04:07 PM
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Sen. Biden and his vote on the Bankruptcy Bill

I know nothing will put this issue to rest, if for no other reason people are increasingly looking to Joe Biden as a viable alternative to the bickering 3 of the "top tier," and this makes their waning supporters nervous, so naturally the attacks will continue, but some perspective on the issue of the bankruptcy bill is in order. Some of this I borrowed from something I posted earlier.

Though not everything in the bankruptcy bill can be applauded--what Republican originated bill doesn't have problems?--but I'd like to think I'd have voted in favor of the bill even knowing that it might end up hampering my future presidential aspirations. I probably would have voted the same way Sen. Biden did because 1.)we desperately needed bankruptcy reform; 2.)the bill helped save many small business owners, and god knows they can use some help in this current corporate-dominated economic climate; 3.)Joe Biden doesn't deal with lobbyists which, unlike the "top tier" candidates, is why he doesn't have much campaign cash, and what he does have is all coming from ordinary Americans, so the decision to vote in favor of this bill wasn't so he could stuff his pockets w/corporate cash; 4.)the Republicans were in charge and in order to get anything done you sometimes have to go along with bills that you aren't in total agreement on; 5.) Joe Biden is not one to sit on his hands doing nothing waiting years for the political tide to turn. If you want to criticize him for that, go ahead. Personally, I respect people of action, and often there are things in bills that legislators don't like, but they vote for the bill for the things they do like. That's democracy in action. Improvements can always be made later. When it comes to a president, I like someone who is strong, determined, and knows more than one way how to move the ball forward.

The bankruptcy laws that were in place were rife with loopholes that were being abused to the point that bankruptcy turned into a safety net for the financially irresponsible. This particular bill began in 1997 and wasn't completed until 2005, being worked on by Democrats and Republicans alike. As I already mentioned, there were problems with it. Some were addressed and some weren't. To be fair, Sen. Biden did support several amendments that he thought were necessary. His detractors would have you believe that this wasn't the case. For example, he voted in favor of Durbin's Amdt #112 - to protect disabled vets from means testing in bankruptcy; yea on Durbin's Amdt #110 - to clarify that the means test does not apply to debtors below median income; yea on Harkin's Amdt #66 - to increase the accrual period for the employee wage priority in bankruptcy; nay against Santorum's Amdt #128 - an attempt to link minimum wage increase to "business incentives and assistance"; yea on Kennedy's Amdt #69 - to amend the definition of current monthly income; yea on Schumer's Amdt #42 - to limit exemption for asset protection trusts; yea on Durbin's Amdt #49 - to protect employees and retirees from corporate practices that deprive them of their earnings and retirement savings when a business files for bankruptcy; and several others, including an amendment offered by Republican Sen. Talent to deter corporate fraud and prevent the abuse of State self-settled trust law, a good amendment that Obama voted against, Dodd voted for, and Hillary didn't bother to vote on at all.

It's obvious that this was a very complicated process. Bankruptcy law has been a work in progress for the majority of time our nation has been a work in progress. The law needed to be revised since, I believe, the early '70s when the last bankruptcy bill was passed. On the 2005 bill, Biden made the effort to understand all the intricacies and voted accordingly. Almost all of the other senators voted up and down Party lines. Sen. Clinton didn't vote on several of the amendments, everything else she voted along Party lines, as did Obama. Now in addition to the amendments voted on mentioned above, there were amendments Sen. Biden voted for that were introduced by Republicans and voted against that were introduced by Democrats. Being a pragmatist Biden tends not to vote in favor of measures that are better dealt with by other means, and he's been consistent in this approach throughout his career. That's just the way he is; he's a complicated man who likes to deal with things in a straightforward manner. I, for one, am genuinely impressed with the fact that 1.)he refused to just play obstructionist by simply being against everything, even though there was political risk involved, because bankruptcy reform was needed, and 2.)he had the intelligence and energy to understand the nuances of everything that was being presented and voted based on that understanding, rather than the much, much easier route of voting down Party lines, like Clinton and Obama, and most Republicans did. Kudos for Sen. Biden for that. Our country would be so much better off if all of our legislators were like that. But his critics on this blog would prefer to have our government just keep playing partisan pingpong like we've been doing since, at least, Ronald Reagan.

One last point: it's important to keep in mind that every time someone files for bankruptcy a lot of hard working people end up paying for it. If you think it simply comes out of the billions of dollars made by large corporations, don't kid yourself. Corporations balance their expenses, including bankruptcies, with the money they're taking in. In other words, the consumer pays. I don't know about you, but I can't afford to pay much more for the things I need. Small business owners really get hurt. It's much harder for them to adjust their prices to make up for the bankruptcy losses because their larger competitors can price their product in ways that will drive the small business owner out of business. It's hard enough for the small business owner as it is. We're talking about everything from local vendors, small privately-owned local banks and savings and loans, roofing companies, privately owned water and gas distributors, local grocery stores, local car dealers, I could go on endlessly. These struggling small businesses create a lot of jobs, particularly in smaller towns and cities.

I've read posts where people were making the case for Sen. Biden that his vote on the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 was to protect jobs in his state of Delaware with the banks and credit card companies. I personally don't think this was the case because I don't think employment with the banks and credit card companies in Delaware would be affected whether the bill was passed or not. And they certainly aren't backing his run for president, perhaps it's because they know him and know they can't expect any special favors should he become president. They are more likely to back the Republicans.

For the record, I personally think Joe Biden would make one damn good president. He's tough, compassionate, and--this is important--he looks at the whole, big picture, and that's imperative to our nation's success during these complicated, challenging times. I know everyone won't agree with his vote in favor of the 2005 Bankruptcy Bill, and that's understandable, but it's important 1.)to know why he voted as he did; 2.) to recognize the effort he put into understanding the bill and its multitude of amendments; 3.)to put his vote into proper perspective. To discount this guy because of this bill is, in my opinion, a poor way of prioritizing what we weigh in making a judgment on who is best qualified to take over the presidency in 2008.