Titled the "Discharge Student Loans in Bankruptcy Act," Katko's bill is quite simple. It merely strikes the "undue hardship" clause from Section 523(a) of the Bankruptcy Code.
Congressman Katko filed the same bill two years ago. When he filed the bill in 2017, it had ten co-sponsors, including Maryland Congressman John Delaney. When Katko refiled the bill last month, he only had two co-sponsors.
If H.R. 770 becomes law, millions of Americans who are overwhelmed by student loans will get relief in the bankruptcy courts. They will have an opportunity to start families and buy homes. They will get the fresh start that bankruptcy is intended to provide.
Let's make Katko's bill the litmus test for everyone who is running for president or is thinking about running. Let's ask them one simple question: Do you support Katko's bill or not?
- President Donald Trump, do you support H.R. 770?
- Senator Elizabeth Warren, do you support Katko's bill?
- Senator Kamala Harris, do you support H.R. 770?
- Senator Bernie Sanders, do you support Katko's bill?
- Former Vice President Joe Biden, do you support H.R. 770?
- Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, do you support Katko's bill?
- Senator Amy Klobuchar, do you support H.R. 770?
- Michael Bloomberg, do you support Katko's bill?
- Beto O'Rourke, do you support H.R. 770?
- John Delaney, former Maryland congressman who co-sponsored Katko's bankruptcy-relief bill in 2017, you are now running for president. Do you support Congressman Katko's bill?
Well, here is a question to everyone who wants to be president, and we should demand a yes-or-no answer. Unless a presidential candidate can say "Yes, I support H.R. 770 without qualification," that person is nothing more than a windbag who doesn't care about average Americans and does not deserve our vote.
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Note: I am grateful to Phil Uhrich for calling this bill to my attention. Mr. Uhrich wrote a provocative essay on national politics in 2016 that is still timely.
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| Representative John Katko (R-NY) |
