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September 30th, 2006 Contact: Peter Carr (202) 224-9854
Jared Whitley (202) 224-0134

HATCH PROTECTS TITHING RIGHTS
Clarifies Treatment of Charitable Contributions in Bankruptcy Law

Washington - Early this morning, the United States Senate unanimously
approved Sen. Orrin G. Hatch's (R-Utah) bill to protect an individual's
right to continue reasonable charitable contributions, including religious
tithing, during the course of a consumer bankruptcy.

"As a rule, I do not like impromptu legislative responses to judicial
decisions," Hatch said. "But the religious practices and beliefs of
individuals should not be subject to the whims of judicial interpretation.
This bill ensures those who tithe can continue to live their faith while in
bankruptcy."

Co-sponsored by Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), the measure responds to a recent
court ruling that above-medium income debtors in Chapter 13 cannot deduct
charitable contributions from their payment plans. The August ruling by a
New York bankruptcy court sidelined the clear Congressional intent behind
the Religious Liberties and Charitable Donation Protection Act of 1998 and
the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005
(BAPCPA). Hatch was a cosponsor of both laws, and the Hatch-Obama bill
ensures that future courts allow individuals to uphold their religious
obligations.

"As a whole, last year's bankruptcy reform was - and still is - a good law,"
Hatch said. "However, like many large bills, it was not perfect. As an
architect of some of those reforms, I can say that Congress intended to
preserve an individual's religious freedom to tithe. I believe that Sen.
Obama and I have put together a narrowly tailored bill that clarifies the
law."