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Effectiveness and Accountability:Twin Goals of Bankruptcy Reform

      Much of the bankruptcy community's attention is now justifiably focused upon the bankruptcy reform legislation pending in Congress. In the heat of the current debate, however, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that significant reforms of the bankruptcy system have been proposed and examined for much of the past decade.

      Congress spent four years developing and debating the legislation ultimately enacted as the 1994 Bankruptcy Reform Act. Congress' desire for further guidance on challenging issues led it to create the National Bankruptcy Review Commission in the 1994 Reform Act. Now, two-and-one-half years after the Review Commission issued its final report, two versions of legislation to revamp the bankruptcy system await reconciliation by a House-Senate conference committee, and possible enactment.

      While opinions differ as to the merits of the proposed legislative changes, few would argue with the premise that the bankruptcy system could be improved. Many key reforms in the legislation are aimed at problems such as fraud and abuse, inefficiency, and sloppy and incomplete bankruptcy filings. Regardless of whether the legislation passes, the United States Trustee Program and the bankruptcy community must continue to meet the challenges posed by the bankruptcy reform measures — to improve the effectiveness and the accountability of the bankruptcy system. The Program's responsibility is to administer whatever changes are made, and to provide hard data about those changes for future decision makers.

      As I write this column, conference committee members have yet to be appointed and attention is focused on the prospect of dealing with the minimum wage provisions through separate non-bankruptcy legislation, thus increasing the prospect that the legislation will pass. In light of this distinct possibility, the Program has developed a comprehensive and, we believe, effective game plan so that we will be prepared to administer the duties set forth in the legislation if it is enacted.

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