March 12, 2012, Alexandria, Va.— A majority of respondents in a recent ABI Quick Poll did not think that the legal requirement for debtors to undergo credit counseling prior to filing for bankruptcy should be repealed from the Bankruptcy Code. Seventy-nine percent did not think (75 percent “strongly” and 4 percent “somewhat”) that the prerequisite requirement that all individual debtors receive credit counseling as a prerequisite to filing a bankruptcy petition should be repealed. A record number of respondents weighed in on the question, with more than 800 votes being recorded in the latest Quick Poll. The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA) made it a requirement for debtors to receive credit counseling within the 180 days prior to filing. Specifically, the law requires debtors looking to file for chapter 7 or 13 to receive, from an approved agency, a certificate showing that the debtor has completed a credit counseling session. Critics argue that BAPCPA’s credit-counseling requirement adds unnecessary time and monetary burdens on debtors who are already financially distressed. Conversely, twenty percent of the respondents agreed (15 percent “strongly agreed” and 5 percent “somewhat agreed”) that the credit-counseling requirement should remain in place. ABI’s Quick Poll is posted on ABI’s home page, www.abiworld.org. ABI members and the public are invited to respond to a question on a timely bankruptcy or insolvency issue. Visit http://www.abiworld.net/quickpoll/ to access the results of previous ABI Quick Polls.