The Chattanooga Times Free Press recently quoted Senate Majority Leader, Bill Frist, M.D. as follows:

"This legislation restores personal responsibility and fairness to an abused system." I suppose that Senator Frist has bought into the President’s rhetoric regarding bankruptcy law. It’s just another way that the administration is paying back those who funded the campaign.

I call upon Senator Frist, M.D., to point out one instance where there has been a fraud in any of the 22,000 cases over the past 25 years handled by Mr. Aaron Epstein or any of the other capable, qualified attorneys who handle bankruptcies in Federal District Court, in Chattanooga.

Senator Frist, M.D. goes on to say that these "common sense initiatives" will provide needed consumer protections, while insuring that those who have the means to do so repay their debts. This again, shows that he is not familiar with the issues, but is merely spouting Republican rhetoric put forth by the Bush Administration.

Common sense (and statistics) will tell you that most bankruptcies are filed in Utah, Tennessee, Nevada, Georgia and Alabama. This is based on per capita bankruptcy filings and upon verifiable information. The explanation for that should be obvious, especially for Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama. Look at the statistics for those living in poverty in our state, especially, those living at or below federal poverty guidelines in those states.

Common sense? There is no common sense in this bankruptcy reform effort except to put more money in the hands of those who need it the least (banks and credit card companies). It is common sense that the reform will take away the opportunity for those who need to rely on the "fresh start provisions" of the bankruptcy code, the safety net provided since the dawn of our democracy. I suppose that Senator Frist, M.D. would want us to incarcerate those who don’t pay their bills because they are not "personally responsible" adults.

Senator Frist, M.D.’s common sense makes no sense at all. It ignores the history of the federal bankruptcy laws and the state exemptions related to that federal law. He ignores that more than half of the filings in his home state are Chapter 13 petitions in which individuals do repay some portion of their debts.

I do not do bankruptcies, but Ken Rannick and Aaron Epstein have earned the right to be heard and listened to. Making attorneys verify the claims of their clients or risk being sued by creditors for falsehoods is beyond ludicrous. Show me one case of all those filed in Chattanooga, Tennessee where an attorney in Chattanooga or in this state in the past three years where an attorney has filed either knowingly, or unwittingly, falsehoods in any pleading, and I’ll be the first to ask for that attorney’s disbarment and/or disciplinary action with the Board of Professional Responsibility. I am sure that if this had occurred, our bankruptcy judges, former and present would have done the same.

Senator Frist, M.D. is out of touch with the needs of the people in our state and across the Country. I refer at least 50 cases per year for bankruptcy, not because of any fraud, but because these people have had medical problems, they’ve gone through a divorce, or a spouse has died. I resent greatly Senator Frist, M.D.’s reference implying that these folks or any of the other thousands who have filed bankruptcy are less than decent, honest working people who do the best they can under very different circumstances.

Also, I call on Robert Bennett, President of Community National Bank and the American Bankers Association to show us the statistics on the bankruptcy abuse which they refer. I suppose when the Bush administration finds nuclear weapons in Iraq, these folks will find their statistics.

This is a Banker and Creditors Bill with no common sense purpose except to increase the money in the coffers of bankers and creditors to the detriment of poor people and those who have had disasters in their life and need bankruptcy protection.
If every person who has ever filed for bankruptcy over the past 15 years had an opportunity to vote on this issue, I have little doubt of what the outcome of that would be in Tennessee and in other states. Common sense? Obviously, this is not something that can be taught either in medical school, the Senate, or by the puppeteers in the Bush administration.

Mitchell A. Byrd
chattlaw@aol.com