Medical Bankruptcy Fairness Act of 2020
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Medical Bankruptcy Fairness Act of 2020
This bill amends federal bankruptcy law to allow a medically distressed debtor to exempt, from the property of the estate in bankruptcy, up to $250,000 of the debtor's aggregate interest in (1) specified real or personal property that the debtor or debtor's dependent uses as a residence, (2) a cooperative that owns such property, or (3) a burial plot for the debtor or debtor's dependent.
With respect to a medically distressed debtor, the bill waives certain administrative and procedural requirements.
In addition, the bill allows a medically distressed debtor to discharge in bankruptcy debts for certain educational loans.
A debtor who seeks relief as a medically distressed debtor must attest in writing, under penalty of perjury, that the debtor's medical expenses are genuine and were not specifically incurred to bring the debtor within the meaning of a medically distressed debtor under this bill.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on July 23, 2020. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on July 23, 2020: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) introduced it on July 23, 2020, and 4 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 4 Democrats.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on July 23, 2020, 2240 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2240 days ago, on July 23, 2020.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers