The Senate has passed the federal government’s annual spending bill for Fiscal Year 2017. The bill includes an extension for two expiring federal bankruptcy judgeships in Delaware secured by U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.). Coons serves on the critical Appropriations Committee that authors the annual spending bills to fund federal programs.
Coons serves on the Appropriations Committee that authors the annual spending bills to fund federal programs.
“I am pleased that today’s bipartisan bill keeps two federal bankruptcy judgeships in Delaware from expiring at the end of this month,” said Coons. “Delaware is home to the busiest bankruptcy court in the country, so retaining these judgeships is critical. The loss of these judgeships would be detrimental to the citizens, municipalities, and businesses in Delaware, who as creditors or debtors, seek timely disposition of their bankruptcy cases. This bill is an important win, but I will also continue to work for a more permanent and comprehensive solution to ensure that there are enough bankruptcy judges in jurisdictions, like Delaware, that need them.”
Delaware has five temporary bankruptcy judgeships that were set to expire on May 25. By being extended in the Fiscal Year 2017 Omnibus, two of these judgeships are now protected for another year or until a bankruptcy judgeship authorization bill, which Coons recently re-introduced in the Senate, is enacted. Two judgeships were chosen
Two judgeships were chosen for extension since it is unlikely that more than two temporary judgeships would be lost during a one-year period.
These extensions are important because Delaware is the busiest bankruptcy court in the nation in terms of weighted filings per judgeship with a current caseload of 2,768 filings per judgeship. Losing these judgeships would cause caseloads to skyrocket and result in delays in the adjudication of bankruptcy cases in Delaware.
