RTO Online has learned that Senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) will likely block
S2947 (Senate Version of HR1701) from reaching the
Senate Banking
Committee, a committee he Chairs.
For S2947 to come to a full Senate vote, it must first be heard in committee.
A committee chairman can kill a bill by simply not scheduling it to be heard.
According to Jessie Jacobs, Senator Sarbanes Press Secretary, a hearing has
not been scheduled and is "unlikely" to be scheduled in the future.
Furthermore, when asked for Senator Sarbanes official position on the bill,
Press Secretary Jacobs said "The fact that a hearing has not been scheduled is
an indication of that [his position]"
While Sarbanes has no official position on S2947, Other Sources in Washington
say "that bill isn't going anywhere".
According to Bill Keese, Executive Director of APRO, "The consumer groups
have been telling us for months that Senator Sarbanes was going to stop this
legislation".
There are ways for a bill to bypass a committee, however the custom in the
Senate is to respect Senate rules. When asked if APRO was pursuing these
options, Mr. Keese added, "We are going to pursue every option available to us
to get Rent to Own legislation passed this year".
No matter what the method used, the bottom line is this, if a bill is not
passed before the next congress is sworn in, the bill is dead and the process
must begin again from scratch.
