Cite as: 540 U. S. 526 (2004)
Opinion of the Court
7 case, he must be employed by the trustee and approved by the court.
III
Though we find it unnecessary to rely on the legislative history behind the 1994 enactment of § 330(a)(1), we find it instructive that the history creates more confusion than clarity about the congressional intent. History and policy considerations lend support both to petitioner's interpretation and to the holding we reach based on the plain language of the statute.
Petitioner, for instance, cites evidence supporting the conclusion that a scrivener's error obscures what was Congress' real intent. For over 100 years debtors' attorneys have been considered by Congress and the courts to be an integral part of the bankruptcy process. See Bankruptcy Act of 1898, ch. 541, §§ 59(d) and 64(b), 30 Stat. 561, 563. See also In re Kross, 96 F. 816 (SDNY 1899). It is fair to doubt that Congress would so rework their longstanding role without announcing the change in the congressional record. Cf. Cohen v. de la Cruz, 523 U. S. 213, 221 (1998) ("We . . . will not read the Bankruptcy Code to erode past bankruptcy practice absent a clear indication that Congress intended such a departure" (internal quotation marks and citation omitted)).
The legislative processes behind the change also lend some support to petitioner's claim. In 1994 the original proposed draft of new § 330(a)(1) featured two changes: stylistic changes throughout the section and the addition of a new provision giving the Government a right to object to fee applications. See S. 540, 103d Cong., 1st Sess. (1993), reprinted in S. Rep. No. 103-168 (1993). The right to object provision was added at § 330(a)(1)'s end. Thus it came immediately after the critical text "or to the debtor's attorney," which the draft edited to read "or the debtors [sic] attorney." Ibid. Before voting the Act into law, however, Congress amended the proposed draft. See 140 Cong. Rec. 8383
539
Page: Index Previous 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007