Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law to Hold Hearing on Bankruptcy Legislation

September 25, 2018

Washington, D.C. -- On Wednesday, September 26, 2018, the Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law will hold a legislative hearing entitled “H.R. 3553, the Bankruptcy Administration Improvement Act of 2017.” H.R. 3553, which was introduced on July 17, 2017, amends the Bankruptcy Code to raise the compensation of trustees in chapter 7 bankruptcy cases. These trustees’ compensation was last adjusted in 1995. The witnesses for Wednesday’s hearing will be:

The Honorable Alan C. Stout, Bankruptcy Court Judge, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky
Clifford J. White III, Director, U.S. Trustee Program
N. Neville Reid, Capital Partner, Co-Chair of the Bankruptcy, Restructuring and Creditors’ Rights Group, Fox Swibel Levin & Carroll LLP
Ariane Holtschlag, Attorney, Law Office of William J. Factor, Ltd.
John Rao, Attorney, National Consumer Law Center

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law Subcommittee Chairman Tom Marino (R-Pa.) issued the following statements on the upcoming hearing: Chairman Goodlatte: “A well-functioning bankruptcy system is important and we need qualified individuals to serve as chapter 7 trustees. There is uniform and bipartisan agreement that chapter 7 trustees’ fees should be increased; however, there has not been broad agreement on who should bear the additional cost. I look forward to Wednesday’s hearing to discuss a solution to this problem.” Subcommittee Chairman Marino: “Quality practitioners with experience are critical to the functionality of our bankruptcy system. Although we are asking more out of trustees, these expert individuals have not received a raise in their compensation for over 20 years. This commonsense legislation ensures that qualified individuals will continue to work as trustees in the bankruptcy system by providing a modest raise for the work they do to ensure that bankruptcy proceedings are handled competently and efficiently.” This hearing will take place in 2237 Rayburn House Office Building and will be webcast live at judiciary.house.gov. Camera crews wishing to cover must be congressionally credentialed and RSVP with the House Radio-TV Gallery at (202) 225-5214.

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