had enjoyed thereby making these plans more similar to ERISA plans. The law raises the priority status for payment of domestic support obligations (such as alimony and child support) from seventh place to first, only behind the administrative expenses of the trustee. This means that domestic support claimants get paid before all other unsecured creditors. Legislative history The 2005 bankruptcy bill was actually first drafted in 1997 and first introduced in 1998. The United States House of Representatives approved a version titled the "Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1999" and the Senate approved a slightly different version in 2000. After the differences in the bills were reconciled, Congress passed the "Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2000". President Clinton, however, employed what is known as a "pocket veto" by waiting for the lame duck congressional session to adjourn without signing the bill, a legislative maneuver tantamount to a veto. Professor Elizabeth Warren, a member of the National Bankruptcy Review Commission at that time, briefed First Lady Clinton on negative effects of the bill; according to Warren, after the briefing: In the years since 2000, the bill was introduced in each Congress, but was repeatedly shelved due to threats of a filibuster from its opponents and because of disagreements over various amendments, including one backed by Senate Democrats that would have made it harder for anti-abortion groups to discharge court fines related to legal debts incurred from lawsuits filed by pro-abortion groups. The increase in Republican majorities in the Senate and House after the 2004 elections breathed new life into the bill, which was introduced in its current form by the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa. According to George Packer in his book The Unwinding, Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, and Hillary Clinton helped pass this bill. (Of the three, however, only Biden voted for the final bill. Dodd voted against, and Clinton did not vote.) The bill was supported by President George W. Bush. Tom DeLay also championed the legislation. The bill passed by large margins, 302-126 in the House and 74-25 in the Senate, and was signed into law by President Bush. Support Support for the act mostly came from banks, credit card companies, and other creditors. Since banks, credit companies and other creditors are the ones who must bear the losses for debts discharged through bankruptcy, their lobby power was a great supporting factor to