Exempt storm victims.

Byline: The Register-Guard

The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act is such a terrible bill that lawmakers ought to be thrilled Mother Nature has given them an opportunity to atone for a small portion of its cruelty. They should exempt victims of Hurricane Katrina from the new law, which goes into effect Oct. 17.

If cruelty seems a harsh judg- ment, remember this: Most of those who file for personal bankruptcy are driven to it by circumstances beyond their control - illness, divorce, job loss or unanticipated military service. The new bill makes it much harder for those people to escape their debts in Bankruptcy Court.

Now, members of Congress can take heartlessness to new heights, or they can refuse to compound the suffering of those who've lost everything in Hurricane Katrina.

Early indications don't look good for the victims. Congress was so eager to deliver the goods to a credit industry that lined lawmakers' pockets with $8.2 million in campaign contributions in 2004 that it even refused to exempt military veterans whose financial woes resulted from fighting for their country.

Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wisc., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, is unwilling to hold a hearing on waiving the law for purposes of disaster relief. Sensenbrenner wants to make sure Americans understand that he and his colleagues have had it up to here with those scofflaws who skip out on their debts. That includes shifty storm victims who plan to claim that they have lost the paperwork required by the new law to prove they can't afford to pay their debts.

And those debts mount by the day. Many Katrina survivors are trying to get by on credit cards and every imaginable form of loan. When they'll be able to find new jobs and housing is anybody's guess.

These desperate Americans face onerous new restrictions if they're forced to file for bankruptcy under the new law. In addition to requiring extensive paperwork and mandated credit counseling for bankruptcy petitioners, the law also limits the protections for homeowners who have refinanced their homes.

Credit counseling for hurricane victims - now there's a productive reform. After they get done with counseling, homeless hurricane survivors will need to prove, with pay stubs and other paperwork, their income for the past six months so a judge can determine their prospects for repayment of debts.

Here's a typical Katrina means test: No house, no job, no car, no possessions, no income, no hope.

Through its inept response to the disaster, the federal government owes Katrina's victims more than it can ever repay. Congress should be ashamed for even hesitating to exempt hurricane survivors from the new bankruptcy law.