ADAM SMITH & BANKRUPTCY BILL
This comes from friend and fellow Dean supporter Cherisse Luxa. If you live within the 9th Congressional District please let Adam Smith know your views on his support of this bill. Last year he voted to keep the Patriot Act and now this. We need to be looking for a replacement for Adam Smith in the 2006 election cycle.
Below is an action email I sent out to the South KingCounty DFA group today about Adam Smith's goofy support of the Bankruptcy Act. Are you folks inThurston County mobilizing at all to get him to change his stance? If not, I hope you will join in the fight. Adam has another Town Hall meeting schedule in Lacey on April 9th. However, we need people to come to the one in Federal Way on March 21st en masse....April 9th might be too late if Adam gets his way and gets the Bankruptcy Act fast-tracked in the House.
Thanks,
Cherisse
Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer ProtectionAct of 2005 passed this week in the Senate 74-25(Cantwell and Murray both stood up and did the rightthing and voted “no”).
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00044
As you may already know, on March 8th Congressman AdamSmith and other members of the New Democrat Coalition sent a letter to Dennis Hastert requesting theBankruptcy Act be fast-tracked in the House.
http://www.tnr.com/etc.mhtml
Adam has said, “The bankruptcy legislation needs to bebrought to the House floor. Personal responsibility is an important value that must be part of our public policy. This legislation ensures that Americans must make good on their commitments while also protecting those who truly need help under Chapter 7 bankruptcy laws."
There is nothing wrong with personal responsibility, but I think this shows that Adam may have bought into the Republican framing. Yes, in some ways, the Bankruptcy Act does increase personal responsibility. What the Bankruptcy Act is NOT, however, is fair and just. The Bankruptcy Act was written by and for credit card companies. As Senator Kennedy noted, "All that matters in this bill is for the credit card companies to have more profits." A recent Harvard study has found that half of the personal bankruptcy filings are precipitated by a health crisis (even among the insured)
http://www.demos-usa.org/pub438.cfm which clearlyshows that many bankruptcy filers are not just being irresponsible spendthrifts. Sen. Kennedy sponsored S.AMDT.28 “To exempt debtors whose financial problems were caused by serious medical problems from means testing.” and S.AMDT.29 “To provide protection formedical debt homeowners”. Both failed failed 39yea-58 nay.
Also troubling among the amendments that failed was Sen. Durbin’s 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.”However, when amendments were offered to close loopholes for the rich they were shot down. For example, Sen. Schumer’s S.AMDT.129 “To limit theexemption for asset protection trusts” failed (43 yea-56 nay).
Because of the military bases in the 9th CD, Adam Smith has often touted how he supports the men and women in the military. To give him his due, Adam has worked hard to provide better benefits and other things for active duty military personnel and veterans. However, it needs to be noted, that when he asked for the Bankruptcy Act to be fast-tracked in theHouse, it was BEFORE there were any amendments passed by the Senate to provide any relief to active duty military or veterans. The ones that passed were:Sen. Durbin’s S.AMDT.112 To protect disabled veterans from means testing in bankruptcy under certain circumstances. Senator Session’s S.AMDT.23 To clarify the safe harbor with respect to debtors who have serious medical conditions or who have been called or ordered toactive duty in the Armed Forces and low income veterans.
Because there were over 100 amendments in the Senateand I just wanted to give you a sample and you can read about them all at the link below and also track the House version.Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer ProtectionAct of 2005Senate
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SN256
:House http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquerytr/z?d109:HR00685
:Here are some suggestions on what to do:
1. Email/call/write Congressman Smith and ask him notonly to reverse his position on the Bankruptcy Act, but to work to defeat its passage.
http://www.house.gov/adamsmith/contact/contact.html
2. Attend Smith’s Town Hall meeting
http://www.house.gov/adamsmith/startPage/townhall.htm
Monday, March 21, 20057:00 - 8:30 PM Knutzen Family Theatre at Dumas Bay Center 3200 SW Dash Point Road, Federal Way
To RSVP, call 253) 593-6600 or (888) SMITH09 When you RSVP ask that the Bankruptcy Act will be placed on the agenda. The maximum occupancy of the Knutzen Theatre is 234. Because Dems are mobilizing all over the 9th CD to attend, if you are told by Smith’s staff they have already received more RSVPs than the facility will hold, ask that they move the meeting to some place larger.
3. Letters to the Editor
Please write short letters to the editor with your views on why the Bankruptcy Act is not a good thing and why Adam Smith should not support it. Also please consider sending an email or call the ‘news tip lines’of newspapers, as well as TV and radio stations asking that they cover the above Town Hall meeting.
4. LD Resolutions
Contact the Chair of your LD Dems and ask that your LD pass a resolution asking that Congressman Smith reverse his position, vote ‘no’ on the Bankruptcy Act and do whatever he can to help ensure it does not pass. This needs to be done as quickly as possible. The House vote on the Bankruptcy Act will be coming up within the month. If Smith is successful in getting it fast-tracked, it could be sooner. My LD Chair will be reaching out to the other LD Chairs in the 9th CD about this and other actions to take at the LD level in the next couple of days. In the meantime, we need to make sure that members of each LD contact their Chair to gain momentum for the passage of such a resolution.
5. Email Senators Cantwell and Murray (maybe evenJohn Kerry)
Please email Senators Cantwell and Murray and thank them for standing up and doing the right thing by voting “no” on the Bankruptcy Act. You might want to also consider asking them to contact Adam Smith to see if they can do anything to get him to reverse his position. Many people of Adam’s constituents have complained in the past that they felt Adam does not listen to them. If you receive a response from Adam that makes you feel that way after you have contacted him about his position on the Bankruptcy Act, consider sending an email to Senator John Kerry
http://kerry.senate.gov/bandwidth/contact/email.html
Thank Senator Kerry for voting ‘no” on the BankruptcyAct and ask him to contact Adam. Since Adam was the Chair of the Kerry campaign in WA state, he may listen to John Kerry.
6. Other organizations
If you are involved with the League of Women Voters,veterans’ groups, a Union, or any other group that maybe willing to take action please do what you can to get these organizations and their members mobilized. Adam has received considerable support from Unions in the past, however, he needs to know that the Bankruptcy Act hurts working-class people while providing loopholes for the rich. President Bush has identified this Bankruptcy Act as one of his top legislative priorities this year. Below my name are links and additional information about the Bankruptcy Act. I apologize for the length of this message, but I wanted everyone to have considerable information without having to spend a lot of time looking it up. Adam Smith’s position on theBankruptcy Act ranks right up there with how he voted on the Patriot Act revisions last year. Being a realist, I know that the House will likely end up passing the Bankruptcy Act because they hold the majority. However, Democrats must stand up and be Democrats—including Adam Smith.
Thanks,
Cherisse Luxa
Daily Kos diary on Why Dems. Supported the BankruptcyBill
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/3/9/185841/7193 states, “Since campaign contributions play asignificant role and Dems have demonstrably fewer targets, especially on K Street, many Dems end up VERY close to the industries that pushed hardest for thebill--namely the American Banker's Association and the credit card companies, although the credit card companies lean further right in their allocation of PAC dollars. This becomes amplified for vulnerable Democrats who often flock to groups like the New Democrats or Blue Dogs in order to establish their bona fides with the business community in order to secure their seats.” With this in mind, everyone might want to go to the FEC site and look to see who has contributed to Adam’s campaign. http://www.fec.gov/finance/disclosure/srssea.shtml
Put “Smith” in the name field, “Washington” in the state, and “Democrat”. Then look at both individual and PAC contributions. A sample of what you will find is that he has received contributions from the American Banker’s Association, Capitol One’s PAC, and others of interest such as individual contributions of the owners of locally owned payday loan companies such as MoneyTree http://www.moneytreeinc.com/
andDollarwise http://www.dollarwiseloans.com/
Recentlythere was a Seattle Times article, “Payday LendersHire Ex-regulators to Lobby for Them”http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002199293_payday07m.html that mentioned, “In the 2004 election season,Moneytree was the largest contributor to political campaigns in the payday-loan industry; its political contributions to legislative candidates alone increased from $8,800 in 2000 to more than $36,000 last year.” A quick check of the FEC records, shows the individuals who listed their employer as Money Tree contributed to $10,000 Adam Smith during the 2003-4election cycle.
What is Wrong with the Bankruptcy Bill
http://www.demos-usa.org/page276.cfm
Krugman’s article of March 8th, The Debt-PeonageSociety
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/08/opinion/08krugman.html?incamp=article_popular_2
Senate Passes Bankruptcy Bill Making it Harder to ShedDebts
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-03-10-bankruptcy_x.htm
UPI’s Christian Bourge’s - Analysis: BankruptcyReforms Help Creditors
http://www.washtimes.com/upi-breaking/20050309-020604-5222r.htm
Daily Olympian notes how Murray/Cantwell voted on Bankruptcy Act amendments
http://www.theolympian.com/home/news/20050313/topstories/105169.shtml
Chad Shue’s blog post – The New Democrats....Party ofPersonal Responsibility
http://theleftshue.blogspot.com/2005/03/new-democratsparty-of-personal.html
Below is an action email I sent out to the South KingCounty DFA group today about Adam Smith's goofy support of the Bankruptcy Act. Are you folks inThurston County mobilizing at all to get him to change his stance? If not, I hope you will join in the fight. Adam has another Town Hall meeting schedule in Lacey on April 9th. However, we need people to come to the one in Federal Way on March 21st en masse....April 9th might be too late if Adam gets his way and gets the Bankruptcy Act fast-tracked in the House.
Thanks,
Cherisse
Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer ProtectionAct of 2005 passed this week in the Senate 74-25(Cantwell and Murray both stood up and did the rightthing and voted “no”).
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00044
As you may already know, on March 8th Congressman AdamSmith and other members of the New Democrat Coalition sent a letter to Dennis Hastert requesting theBankruptcy Act be fast-tracked in the House.
http://www.tnr.com/etc.mhtml
Adam has said, “The bankruptcy legislation needs to bebrought to the House floor. Personal responsibility is an important value that must be part of our public policy. This legislation ensures that Americans must make good on their commitments while also protecting those who truly need help under Chapter 7 bankruptcy laws."
There is nothing wrong with personal responsibility, but I think this shows that Adam may have bought into the Republican framing. Yes, in some ways, the Bankruptcy Act does increase personal responsibility. What the Bankruptcy Act is NOT, however, is fair and just. The Bankruptcy Act was written by and for credit card companies. As Senator Kennedy noted, "All that matters in this bill is for the credit card companies to have more profits." A recent Harvard study has found that half of the personal bankruptcy filings are precipitated by a health crisis (even among the insured)
http://www.demos-usa.org/pub438.cfm which clearlyshows that many bankruptcy filers are not just being irresponsible spendthrifts. Sen. Kennedy sponsored S.AMDT.28 “To exempt debtors whose financial problems were caused by serious medical problems from means testing.” and S.AMDT.29 “To provide protection formedical debt homeowners”. Both failed failed 39yea-58 nay.
Also troubling among the amendments that failed was Sen. Durbin’s 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.”However, when amendments were offered to close loopholes for the rich they were shot down. For example, Sen. Schumer’s S.AMDT.129 “To limit theexemption for asset protection trusts” failed (43 yea-56 nay).
Because of the military bases in the 9th CD, Adam Smith has often touted how he supports the men and women in the military. To give him his due, Adam has worked hard to provide better benefits and other things for active duty military personnel and veterans. However, it needs to be noted, that when he asked for the Bankruptcy Act to be fast-tracked in theHouse, it was BEFORE there were any amendments passed by the Senate to provide any relief to active duty military or veterans. The ones that passed were:Sen. Durbin’s S.AMDT.112 To protect disabled veterans from means testing in bankruptcy under certain circumstances. Senator Session’s S.AMDT.23 To clarify the safe harbor with respect to debtors who have serious medical conditions or who have been called or ordered toactive duty in the Armed Forces and low income veterans.
Because there were over 100 amendments in the Senateand I just wanted to give you a sample and you can read about them all at the link below and also track the House version.Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer ProtectionAct of 2005Senate
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SN256
:House http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquerytr/z?d109:HR00685
:Here are some suggestions on what to do:
1. Email/call/write Congressman Smith and ask him notonly to reverse his position on the Bankruptcy Act, but to work to defeat its passage.
http://www.house.gov/adamsmith/contact/contact.html
2. Attend Smith’s Town Hall meeting
http://www.house.gov/adamsmith/startPage/townhall.htm
Monday, March 21, 20057:00 - 8:30 PM Knutzen Family Theatre at Dumas Bay Center 3200 SW Dash Point Road, Federal Way
To RSVP, call 253) 593-6600 or (888) SMITH09 When you RSVP ask that the Bankruptcy Act will be placed on the agenda. The maximum occupancy of the Knutzen Theatre is 234. Because Dems are mobilizing all over the 9th CD to attend, if you are told by Smith’s staff they have already received more RSVPs than the facility will hold, ask that they move the meeting to some place larger.
3. Letters to the Editor
Please write short letters to the editor with your views on why the Bankruptcy Act is not a good thing and why Adam Smith should not support it. Also please consider sending an email or call the ‘news tip lines’of newspapers, as well as TV and radio stations asking that they cover the above Town Hall meeting.
4. LD Resolutions
Contact the Chair of your LD Dems and ask that your LD pass a resolution asking that Congressman Smith reverse his position, vote ‘no’ on the Bankruptcy Act and do whatever he can to help ensure it does not pass. This needs to be done as quickly as possible. The House vote on the Bankruptcy Act will be coming up within the month. If Smith is successful in getting it fast-tracked, it could be sooner. My LD Chair will be reaching out to the other LD Chairs in the 9th CD about this and other actions to take at the LD level in the next couple of days. In the meantime, we need to make sure that members of each LD contact their Chair to gain momentum for the passage of such a resolution.
5. Email Senators Cantwell and Murray (maybe evenJohn Kerry)
Please email Senators Cantwell and Murray and thank them for standing up and doing the right thing by voting “no” on the Bankruptcy Act. You might want to also consider asking them to contact Adam Smith to see if they can do anything to get him to reverse his position. Many people of Adam’s constituents have complained in the past that they felt Adam does not listen to them. If you receive a response from Adam that makes you feel that way after you have contacted him about his position on the Bankruptcy Act, consider sending an email to Senator John Kerry
http://kerry.senate.gov/bandwidth/contact/email.html
Thank Senator Kerry for voting ‘no” on the BankruptcyAct and ask him to contact Adam. Since Adam was the Chair of the Kerry campaign in WA state, he may listen to John Kerry.
6. Other organizations
If you are involved with the League of Women Voters,veterans’ groups, a Union, or any other group that maybe willing to take action please do what you can to get these organizations and their members mobilized. Adam has received considerable support from Unions in the past, however, he needs to know that the Bankruptcy Act hurts working-class people while providing loopholes for the rich. President Bush has identified this Bankruptcy Act as one of his top legislative priorities this year. Below my name are links and additional information about the Bankruptcy Act. I apologize for the length of this message, but I wanted everyone to have considerable information without having to spend a lot of time looking it up. Adam Smith’s position on theBankruptcy Act ranks right up there with how he voted on the Patriot Act revisions last year. Being a realist, I know that the House will likely end up passing the Bankruptcy Act because they hold the majority. However, Democrats must stand up and be Democrats—including Adam Smith.
Thanks,
Cherisse Luxa
Daily Kos diary on Why Dems. Supported the BankruptcyBill
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/3/9/185841/7193 states, “Since campaign contributions play asignificant role and Dems have demonstrably fewer targets, especially on K Street, many Dems end up VERY close to the industries that pushed hardest for thebill--namely the American Banker's Association and the credit card companies, although the credit card companies lean further right in their allocation of PAC dollars. This becomes amplified for vulnerable Democrats who often flock to groups like the New Democrats or Blue Dogs in order to establish their bona fides with the business community in order to secure their seats.” With this in mind, everyone might want to go to the FEC site and look to see who has contributed to Adam’s campaign. http://www.fec.gov/finance/disclosure/srssea.shtml
Put “Smith” in the name field, “Washington” in the state, and “Democrat”. Then look at both individual and PAC contributions. A sample of what you will find is that he has received contributions from the American Banker’s Association, Capitol One’s PAC, and others of interest such as individual contributions of the owners of locally owned payday loan companies such as MoneyTree http://www.moneytreeinc.com/
andDollarwise http://www.dollarwiseloans.com/
Recentlythere was a Seattle Times article, “Payday LendersHire Ex-regulators to Lobby for Them”http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002199293_payday07m.html that mentioned, “In the 2004 election season,Moneytree was the largest contributor to political campaigns in the payday-loan industry; its political contributions to legislative candidates alone increased from $8,800 in 2000 to more than $36,000 last year.” A quick check of the FEC records, shows the individuals who listed their employer as Money Tree contributed to $10,000 Adam Smith during the 2003-4election cycle.
What is Wrong with the Bankruptcy Bill
http://www.demos-usa.org/page276.cfm
Krugman’s article of March 8th, The Debt-PeonageSociety
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/08/opinion/08krugman.html?incamp=article_popular_2
Senate Passes Bankruptcy Bill Making it Harder to ShedDebts
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-03-10-bankruptcy_x.htm
UPI’s Christian Bourge’s - Analysis: BankruptcyReforms Help Creditors
http://www.washtimes.com/upi-breaking/20050309-020604-5222r.htm
Daily Olympian notes how Murray/Cantwell voted on Bankruptcy Act amendments
http://www.theolympian.com/home/news/20050313/topstories/105169.shtml
Chad Shue’s blog post – The New Democrats....Party ofPersonal Responsibility
http://theleftshue.blogspot.com/2005/03/new-democratsparty-of-personal.html
posted by T. Scott Brineman at 9:16 AM
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