Cite as: 507 U. S. 511 (1993)
Scalia, J., concurring in judgment
Ebert v. Poston, 266 U. S. 548 (1925), this Court held that neither § 205 nor § 302, which provides protection from fore-closures, conferred on a court any power to extend a statutory redemption period. Congress overturned the rule of Ebert in the 1942 Amendments, a central part of the legislative history that the Court curiously fails to discuss. Section 5 of those amendments rewrote § 205 of the Act to place it in its current form, which directly addresses the redemption periods. See 56 Stat. 770-771; ante, at 512-513, n. 1 (setting forth current version of § 205). The crucial question in the present case (if one believes in legislative history) is whether Congress intended this amendment to be consistent with the "heart of the policy of the Act"—conferring judicial discretion—or rather intended it to confer an unqualified right to extend the period of redemption. Both the House and Senate Reports state that, under the amended § 205, "[t]he running of the statutory period during which real property may be redeemed after sale to enforce any obligation, tax, or assessment is likewise tolled during the part of such period which occurs after the enactment of the [1942 Amendments]." H. R. Rep. No. 2198, 77th Cong., 2d Sess., 3-4 (1942) (emphasis added); S. Rep. No. 1558, 77th Cong., 2d Sess., 4 (1942) (emphasis added). The Reports also state that "[a]lthough the tolling of such periods is now within the spirit of the law, it has not been held to be within the letter thereof" (citing Ebert). H. R. Rep. No. 2198, supra, at 4; S. Rep. No. 1558, supra, at 4. These statements surely indicate an intention to provide a tolling period for redemptions similar to that already provided for statutes of limitations— which, on the basis of the legislative history I have deany action by or against any person in military service or by or against his heirs, executors, administrators, or assigns, whether such cause of action shall have accrued prior to or during the period of such service." 40 Stat. 443.
Section 205 of the 1940 Act was identical, except that the word "That" at the beginning of the section was omitted.
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