A vote may come today in the U-S Senate on a bill to reform the nation’s bankruptcy laws — a bill authored by Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley. He says the measure has prompted heated arguments on the Senate floor.Debate started yesterday that was highly contentious, with opposition led by Massachusetts democrat Ted Kennedy. Grassley says the bill has passed the Senate in various forms three times in recent years, including this past December with the help of 17 democrats. Grassley says bankruptcies cost every American household about 400-dollars a year in higher costs for goods, services and credit. He says his bill aims to reduce the number of bankruptcies filed every year.Some of the one-point-two million bankruptcies filed last year were by those businesses or individuals who could pay some of their bills but chose to file bankruptcy instead as a means of financial planning. Grassley says the bill would fix weaknesses in the bankruptcy code and would design a more balanced system for debtors and creditors.
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