Director Cliff White today addressed the 2012 Annual Meeting of the National Bankruptcy Conference in Washington, DC. The Director’s remarks focused on the U.S. Trustee Program’s updated proposed fee guidelines for attorneys in the largest chapter 11 cases. He highlighted the major comments received during the initial public comment periods and at the public meeting, the revisions made to the guidelines as a result of those comments, and the process for finalizing and promulgating the guidelines.

Director Cliff White addressed the National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees at its 2012 Annual Meeting in Colorado Springs, Colorado, today. Among other topics, the Director spoke about the United States Trustee Program’s mortgage servicer enforcement efforts, plans to enhance enforcement of the bankruptcy rules governing unsecured proofs of claim, efficiency initiatives, and chapter 7 trustee oversight issues.

The United States Trustee Program Strategic Plan FY 2012-2016 outlines the Program’s mission to promote the integrity and efficiency of the bankruptcy system for the benefit of all stakeholders – debtors, creditors, and the public. The FY 2012-2016 Strategic Plan describes the Program’s long-term goals in furthering this mission, and continues the Program’s operations as a high-performance, litigating component of the Department of Justice.

Following two public comment periods and a public meeting, the USTP has issued an updated version of its proposed fee guidelines which will apply to the USTP’s review of applications for compensation filed by attorneys in the largest chapter 11 cases (“updated proposed guidelines”). The USTP invites public review of and comment on the updated proposed guidelines through November 23, 2012, and thereafter will promulgate final guidelines, including through publication in the Federal Register.

The Census Bureau’s Median Family Income Data accessible through the “Means Testing Information” page has been updated. The U.S. Trustee Program will apply the updated data to all cases filed on or after November 1, 2012.