WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Senate passed the federal government’s annual funding bill for Fiscal Year 2017, which includes funding for several key programs secured by U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.). Sen. Coons serves on the critical Appropriations Committee that authors the annual spending bills to fund federal programs.
Included in the annual package was a key extension for two federal bankruptcy judgeships in Delaware.
“I am pleased that today’s bipartisan bill keeps two federal bankruptcy judgeships in Delaware from expiring at the end of this month,” said Sen. Coons. “Delaware is home to the busiest bankruptcy court in the country, so retaining these judgeships is imperative. 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. Today’s bill is just the first step and I 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.”
Background on Bankruptcy Court judgeships:
Delaware has five temporary bankruptcy judgeships that were set to expire on May 25, 2017. 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 Sen. Coons recently re-introduced in the Senate, is enacted. These extensions are critical because Delaware is the busiest bankruptcy court in the nation in terms of weighted filings per judgeship with a current caseload of 2,772 filings per judgeship. Losing these judgeships would cause caseloads to skyrocket and result in unacceptable delays in the adjudication of bankruptcy cases in Delaware.