Cite as: 520 U. S. 953 (1997)
Opinion of the Court
creditor demands for more "adequate protection," 11 U. S. C. § 361, do not fully offset these risks. See 90 F. 3d, at 1066 (Smith, J., dissenting) ("vast majority of reorganizations fail . . . leaving creditors with only a fraction of the compensation due them"; where, as here, "collateral depreciates rapidly, the secured creditor may receive far less in a failed reorganization than in a prompt foreclosure" (internal cross-reference omitted)); accord, In re Taffi, 96 F. 3d, at 1192-1193.3
Of prime significance, the replacement-value standard accurately gauges the debtor's "use" of the property. It values "the creditor's interest in the collateral in light of the proposed [repayment plan] reality: no foreclosure sale and economic benefit for the debtor derived from the collateral equal to . . . its [replacement] value." In re Winthrop Old Farm Nurseries, 50 F. 3d, at 75. The debtor in this case elected to use the collateral to generate an income stream. That actual use, rather than a foreclosure sale that will not take place, is the proper guide under a prescription hinged to the property's "disposition or use." See ibid.4
3 On this matter, amici curiae supporting ACC contended: " 'Adequate protection' payments under 11 U. S. C. §§ 361, 362(d)(1) typically are based on the assumption that the collateral will be subject to only ordinary depreciation. Hence, even when such payments are made, they frequently fail to compensate adequately for the usually more rapid depreciation of assets retained by the debtor." Brief for American Automobile Manufacturers Association, Inc., et al. as Amici Curiae 21, n. 9.
4 We give no weight to the legislative history of § 506(a), noting that it is unedifying, offering snippets that might support either standard of valuation. The Senate Report simply repeated the phrase contained in the second sentence of § 506(a). See S. Rep. No. 95-989, p. 68 (1978). The House Report, in the Fifth Circuit's view, rejected a " 'replacement cost' " valuation. See In re Rash, 90 F. 3d 1036, 1056 (CA5 1996) (quoting H. Rep. No. 95-595, p. 124 (1977)). That Report, however, appears to use the term "replacement cost" to mean the cost of buying new property to replace property in which a creditor had a security interest. See ibid. In any event, House Report excerpts are not enlightening, for the provision pivotal here—the second sentence of § 506(a)—did not appear in the bill addressed by the House Report. The key sentence originated in the
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