The American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) applauded President Joe Biden for signing into law yesterday the amended S.3823, the “Bankruptcy Threshold Adjustment and Technical Corrections Act.” The bill was introduced by Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) to raise the debt limit back to $7.5 million for small businesses electing to file for bankruptcy under subchapter V of chapter 11. Consistent with the recommendations of ABI’s Commission on Consumer Bankruptcy, the measure also raises the debt limit for individual chapter 13 filings to $2.75 million and removes the distinction between secured and unsecured debt for that calculation. The bill passed the Senate on April 7 and the House of Representatives on June 7. All provisions of the law will sunset two years from enactment, on June 21, 2024.

Due to priorities and procedural issues, the Senate was not able to address S.3823 prior to the March 27 sunset of the $7.5 million eligibility limit for small businesses electing to file for bankruptcy under subchapter V of chapter 11. The debt-eligibility limit returned to the original $2,725,625 threshold on March 28 that had been established under the “Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019” (SBRA). In addition to providing a two-year extension of the subchapter V debt limit back to $7.5 million, the law also covers any chapter 11 case eligible under the reinstated subchapter V debt limit that was pending or filed after the March 27 sunset.

“ABI commends the President and Congress for providing greater access to struggling small businesses and families looking to achieve a financial fresh start,” said ABI Executive Director Amy Quackenboss. “This law re-establishes the debt limit for subchapter V at $7.5 million and increases the eligibility of individuals to access relief under chapter 13, providing a cost-effective and efficient path for more consumers and businesses to reorganize their finances.”

As a direct result of the work of ABI’s Commission to Study the Reform of Chapter 11, the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (SBRA) became effective on February 19, 2020, to provide Main Street business debtors with a more streamlined path for restructuring their debts. Since then, more than 3,000 debtors have elected to file under subchapter V of chapter 11. In response to the economic distress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act” (CARES Act; P.L. 116-136) was enacted on March 27, 2020, which increased the debt-eligibility limit from $2,725,625 to $7,500,000 for small businesses looking to file under the SBRA’s subchapter V. Congress extended the limit last year with the enactment of the “COVID-19 Bankruptcy Relief Extension Act of 2021,” but the threshold returned to $2,725,625 on March 27.

Sen. Grassley (R-Iowa) originally introduced the bipartisan S.3823 on March 14, aiming to make the subchapter V debt limit permanent at $7.5 million and index it to inflation, increase the chapter 13 debt limit to $2.75 million and remove the distinction between secured and unsecured debt in that calculation, make Small Business Reorganization Act technical amendments, and make Bankruptcy Administration Improvement Act technical amendments. Senate Judiciary Chair Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) are both co-sponsors of the legislation.