Todd Zywicki, a law professor at George Mason University in Virginia, said the shift away from the "fresh start" philosophy is justified because another bedrock American value -- that people who incur debts should pay them -- is being sullied under the current system.
But many bankruptcy judges and independent experts warn that equally compelling values would be lost if the proposed measure becomes law.
Practically, they warn, debtors who would no longer qualify for Chapter 7 and fail to complete Chapter 13 repayment plans would either have to keep paying creditors indefinitely or drop out.
"If you're confronted with a mountain of debt and have no hope of getting out from under it, you're either going to go underground or turn to crime," said Kenneth N. Klee, a former Republican congressional staffer who was one of the chief authors of the last major bankruptcy law change in 1978 and now teaches law at UCLA.
More broadly, say judges and others, the ability to start over after running into financial problems should not be discounted.
"Loads of people have filed bankruptcy -- Mark Twain, Buster Keaton, Walt Disney," said Lundin, the Nashville-based bankruptcy judge. "Bankruptcy is a very American safety net.
"It's part and parcel of the American dream."
