President Signs Bankruptcy Judgeships Legislation into Law

WASHINGTON – Today, President Obama signed into law the Temporary Bankruptcy Judgeships Extension Act, which would extend 29 key bankruptcy judgeships, including five in Delaware. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) is a cosponsor of the bill. Delaware’s bankruptcy courts take up more than one-third of the nation’s largest bankruptcies cases. The bill was introduced by Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.). In addition to Sen. Carper, Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.), Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Dean Heller (R-Nev.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) are cosponsors of the bill.

“In this challenging economic climate, businesses need more certainty, not less,” said Sen. Carper. “To that end, businesses need a regulatory and legal environment that operates efficiently and effectively. It is imperative that we have an adequate number of judgeships to maintain a fair and expeditious process to handle bankruptcy cases. Failing to extend these judgeships would not be in the interest of our legal or business communities and would negatively impact our broader economy. The last thing we need to do at this moment is to disrupt the legal systems and institutions that businesses — large and small — depend on to adapt to shifting economic conditions. I commend my colleagues in the House and the Senate for passing this important legislation, which is now law. But I especially praise my friend and colleague Chris Coons for his tireless work and leadership on this issue. His commitment to guiding this bill through both chambers to become law was unflagging, and I am delighted to see his efforts succeed.”