I'm going to guess that Obama and Durbin are aganist this

http://www.campusprogress.com/features/142/no-exit

"No Exit

Your credit card companies might be a week away from rewriting federal law so that you will never, ever, get out of debt.

By Heather McGhee

Your credit card companies are hoping that a bill they’ve been pushing since the Clinton years will finally slide through Congress this week. From there it would land on the desk of a President whose signature they’ve ensured with over $1.4 million in campaign contributions. It’s the “Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act” (S.256 & H.R.685) and it would allow banks to keep chasing you if you went completely broke, even after you’ve filed for bankruptcy and ruined your credit—indefinitely.

But shouldn’t I have to repay my debts, you might ask? Sure, up to a point. But there’s a reason why we abolished debtor’s prisons in the 1840s. Think of our beloved airlines. They’ve gone completely broke, but the government has decided that it’s better for everyone to let them try to dig out than to simply unleash the dogs. Likewise, you’re young; you’ve got a family to start, a house to buy, a career to start and then tend to, and taxes to pay. Put simply, you’re worth more to your fellow Americans on your feet than over a barrel. It’s a time-honored American value, and it’s never been more needed than in today’s brutal economy.

Problem is, the credit companies don’t quite share our values. Sure, Americans paid them $24 billion in late and other penalty fees last year, on top of $85.5 billion in interest. Sure, by the time folks file for bankruptcy, they’ve been charged upwards of 29 percent APR, and have usually already repaid the original amount borrowed, plus thousands in interest and fees that just won’t quit. And sure, 90 percent of bankruptcies are caused by a medical catastrophe, a divorce, or a job loss – not reckless binge shopping trips. But this isn’t just about going after loose change in the pockets of a few young people and families backed into a corner—although they’ll gladly take that, too.

Bankruptcy “reform” is also about making sure that creditors’ new strong-arm tactics – which include raising your rate if you’re a day late, and the insane new universal default clause (i.e. “miss a payment on your car, double your MasterCard APR”) – will remain profitable in the long-term. Here is how the current calculus works: the more they abuse their customers, the more likely we are to flip them the bird and file. With Chapter 7 – the heart of bankruptcy protection – dismantled, the math is much simpler: the more they abuse their customers, the more they abuse their customers – indefinitely.

So, do you see why if you’ve got a credit card (or 4 or 5), you’ve got a problem with this bill? Senators are debating S.256 every day this week. It’s an uphill battle, even Democrats who denounce Bush’s handling of the economy are on the record in support of this bill. Perhaps that’s because the industry has been Washington’s single largest contributor for years. Or perhaps it’s because they haven’t heard from you."

They better be at least!

I'm going to have to take out an assload of student loans pretty soon in the near future. I smell a letter-writing campaign in the air.

I want to do some organizing on this right now.

If you want to organize, I'll be your foot soldier.

Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, who is also Senate Finance Committee Chairman was quoted earlier this week as saying that it's hard to get Republicans and Democrats to work together on Social Security because they all don't think that Social Security is going to come up.

We all have been focusing on it so much and have had our eyes off other legislation.

You gotta remember what kind of people we're dealing with. Devious, underhanded tactics like these are nothing to them. We definitely have to get on this.

My mom had to declare bankruptcy twice. She'll never be left alone, now. I'll be in debt for college, they'll hound me the rest of my life. Fuckers. Fucking douchebag fuckers.

No final vote YET. But it still looks bad.

not....



http://www.reformation.org/moneychangers.html
"Oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not restore the pledge, lifts up his eyes to the idols, commits abomination, lends at interest, and takes increase; shall he then live? He shall not live. He has done all these abominable things; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon himself "(Ezekiel 18:12-13). Revised Standard Version.

Been watching 'em voting on amendments to this awful thing on C-SPAN2 off and on today and yesterday. Dems (Durbin one of them) keep trying to tack on amendments that mitigate the worst effects--against, say, veterans, or people in bankruptcy due to catastrophic illness, or identity theft, etc. And Repubs keep voting 'em down. It's going to be a long battle, and we're likely going to lose.

Here's today's depressing result: http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/vote_menu_109_1.htm

Note two of these are Durbin's, and he cosponsored one or two more. Obama cosponsored one too (Is it his first?).

I was watching it while drifting in and out of sleep on the couch.