	Introduction

Article I, Section 8, clause 5 of the U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power to enact "uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States." Bankruptcy is a method through which financially troubled debtors can receive relief from financial pressures by discharging some or all of their debts under procedures designed to provide some protection to both debtors and creditors. Bankruptcy is often said to provide debtors with a "fresh start," eliminating their debts and allowing them to move forward. However, some debts cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. To the extent that debts cannot be discharged, debtors may be hindered in their quest for a fresh start. Although Section 523 of the Bankruptcy Code provides an extensive list of debts that cannot be discharged in bankruptcy, there are other debts whose discharge in bankruptcy is either limited or prohibited under legislation not codified in Title 11 of the United States Code. 111th Congress

Two bills introduced in the 111 th Congress that do not propose to amend the Bankruptcy Code but would limit the dischargeability of certain debts in bankruptcy. The first, H.R. 3962 , the Affordable Health Care for America Act, would amend the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. § 1601 et seq.). In so doing, it would leave unchanged the limitations on discharge in bankruptcy that already exist under that act and would not amend the Bankruptcy Code to include those limitations. H.R. 4364 , the Citizen Participation Act of 2009, would make certain court-awarded fees or costs ineligible for discharge in bankruptcy under both Sections 523 and 1328 of the Bankruptcy Code. General Nature of Provisions Limiting Discharge in Bankruptcy

Debts owed to the United States are the subject of nearly all of the limitations and outright prohibitions on discharge in bankruptcy found outside of the Bankruptcy Code. One exception to this general rule is support obligations that have been assigned to a state or municipality. Prohibiting discharge within a five-year period is a common, though not universal, provision in these extra-Title 11 limitations on discharge in bankruptcy. However, four of the provisions completely prohibit discharge in bankruptcy.
Article I, Section 8, clause 5 of the U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power to enact "uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States." Bankruptcy is a method through which financially troubled debtors can receive relief from financial pressures by discharging some or all of their debts under procedures designed to provide some protection to both debtors and creditors. Bankruptcy is often said to provide debtors with a "fresh start," eliminating their debts and allowing them to move forward. However, some debts cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. To the extent that debts cannot be discharged, debtors may be hindered in their quest for a fresh start. Although Section 523 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the U.S. Code) provides an extensive list of debts that cannot be discharged in bankruptcy, there are other debts whose discharge in bankruptcy is either limited or prohibited under legislation not codified in Title 11 of the United States Code.
This report provides a table of statutory limitations on discharge in bankruptcy that are not included in the Bankruptcy Code. Many of the limitations prohibit discharge of the obligation when the bankruptcy discharge order is entered into within a particular time period (frequently five years) after an event that triggered the repayment obligation, with many of them including the further condition that the court must also find that it would be unconscionable to not discharge the debt. However, four provisions prohibit discharge in bankruptcy at any time. Although most limitations and outright prohibitions on discharge in bankruptcy involve debts owed to the United States, support obligations that have been assigned to a state or municipality are debts whose discharge is completely prohibited.
In the 111th Congress, at least two bills have been introduced that include limitations on discharge of debts in bankruptcy but do not amend the Bankruptcy Code to include those limits. H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, proposed amending the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.). H.R. 4364, the Citizen Participation Act of 2009, would prohibit discharge in bankruptcy for certain court-awarded fees or costs. Although the bill refers to both Section 523 and Section 1328, it does not provide that either be amended.