Jim Jeffords on Corporations Independent Jr Senator (VT, retiring 2006)

Voted NO on repealing tax subsidy for companies which move US jobs offshore.

Voted YES on reforming bankruptcy to include means-testing & restrictions.

• Declare a debtor eligible only for Chapter 13, as anyone financially capable of paying back their creditors at a rate that still allows them to earn above their state's median income
• Place domestic support obligations such as child support and alimony amongst the first priority claim category of non-dischargeable debts on a debtor filing for bankruptcy
• Require debtors to pay for and attend credit counseling prior to filing for bankruptcy
• Cap home equity protection at $125,000 if the debtor purchased a house within 40 months of filing for bankruptcy.

Voted YES on restricting rules on personal bankruptcy.

Expand microloans to small businesses.

Amends provisions of the Small Business Act concerning the Microloan program (a program of start-up loans to small businesses) to:
1. remove the requirement that such loans be short-term;
2. allow up to 35 (currently 25) percent of grant funds made to intermediaries to be used to provide technical assistance to small businesses that are prospective borrowers under the program; and
3. authorize the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to use up to $1 million of the annual appropriations for technical assistance grants to subcontract with one or more national trade associations of eligible intermediaries or other knowledgeable entities to provide peer-to-peer capacity building and training to lenders and organizations seeking to become lenders under the program.