BRIEFLY / LEGISLATION

An obscure provision of the Senate-passed version of the bankruptcy reform bill now pending in Congress could allow credit-card issuers and other lenders to tap some borrowers’ retirement assets to pay off debts in the event of a bankruptcy. The provision, which is opposed by the Labor Department, several senators and a number of private pension experts, would allow consumers to waive protections that now exist to prevent most types of retirement assets from being seized in bankruptcy. Sen. Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, sponsored the provision to make sure wealthy debtors don’t evade creditors by shifting assets to retirement accounts. Critics argue that the impact of the language would be much broader. They say it would invite credit-card issuers, banks and other lenders to write waivers into the fine print of cardholder agreements and loan documents so they could be used if borrowers declared bankruptcy. Senate opposition is coming from both sides of the aisle.