The American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) Commission on Consumer Bankruptcy today submitted a written statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee to be entered into the record for the hearing titled “Student Loan Bankruptcy Reform.” Hon. William Houston Brown (retired), in his capacity as co-chair of the ABI Commission on Consumer Bankruptcy, and Amy Quackenboss, ABI Executive Director, submitted the statement at the invitation of the Committee to provide the Commission’s recommendation on student loan debt and bankruptcy.

The Commission issued its Final Report in April 2019 providing recommendations focused on 48 discrete issue areas to improve the consumer bankruptcy system. Its more than 250 pages are supported by nearly 700 footnotes, with the basis for each recommendation fully documented. Each recommendation was considered individually and approved by at least a two-thirds majority of the Commission.  The final report was approved by the commissioners unanimously. Student loan debt in bankruptcy was the first issue addressed in the Commission’s Final Report.

“Amid the financial challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, student over-indebtedness also has significant adverse consequences for the national economy,” according to the statement. “High levels of post-secondary education debt correlates with lower earnings, lower rates of home ownership, fewer automobile purchases, higher household financial distress, and delayed marriage and family formation among other ripple effects.”

To read the statement and read the full Commission recommendation on student loan debt and bankruptcy, please click here. 

To speak with Judge Brown or a member of the Commission regarding its recommendation on student loan debt, please contact ABI Public Affairs Officer John Hartgen at 703-894-5935 or [email protected].

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ABI is the largest multi-disciplinary, nonpartisan organization dedicated to research and education on matters related to insolvency. ABI was founded in 1982 to provide Congress and the public with unbiased analysis of bankruptcy issues. The ABI membership includes nearly 10,000 attorneys, accountants, bankers, judges, professors, lenders, turnaround specialists and other bankruptcy professionals, providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and information. For additional information on ABI, visit www.abi.org. For additional conference information, visit http://www.abi.org/calendar-of-events.

ABI’s Board of Directors in December 2016 commissioned a two-and-a-half-year study to examine the consumer bankruptcy system with a goal of issuing a report containing recommended improvements to be implemented within the existing structure. The ABI Commission on Consumer Bankruptcy issued its Final Report in April 2019 providing recommendations focused on 48 discrete issue areas to improve the consumer bankruptcy system. For more information on the Commission and to download a copy of the Final Report, please visit https://consumercommission.abi.org/.