FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 17, 2005

CONTACT: Brendan Daly/Jennifer Crider 202-226-7616

Pelosi: Republican Class Action Bill ‘An Injustice to Consumers, a Windfall for Irresponsible Corporations’

Washington, D.C. – House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi spoke today on the House floor in opposition to the Republican’s Class Action Fairness Act, which protects irresponsible corporations at the expense of consumers.  Below are Pelosi’s remarks:

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this legislation.  Today, Republicans are bringing to the floor, as their first major legislative action, a payback to big business at the expense of consumers.  The Republican agenda is to ensure that some Americans do not get their day in court.

“Make no mistake: the class action bill before us today is an extreme bill.  It is not a compromise bill, as some have claimed.  It is an extreme bill that is an injustice to consumers, and a windfall for irresponsible corporations.

“Consumers will be hit hard by this bill.  It lumps together individual personal injury cases such as those involving Vioxx, which are not class actions under current procedures, and forces them into the federal courts.  Doing so will greatly increase the likelihood that such cases will never be heard. 

“When Americans are injured or even killed by Vioxx or Celebrex or discriminated against by Wal-Mart, they may never get their day in court.  Those cases that do go forward will take significantly longer because the federal courts are overburdened and unequipped for this caseload.  That is why the bill is opposed by federal judges, including the Judicial Conference of the United States.

“Special interests have even admitted that the real intent of this bill is to clog the federal courts and therefore stop the cases.

“To irresponsible corporations, however, the class action bill is a belated Valentine.  It is exactly what they asked for.  Powerful corporations will largely be immune from the accountability that currently comes from meritorious state class action cases.  For example, this bill would help shield large corporations from any accountability for Enron-style shareholder fraud, for activities that violate employee rights under state law, and for telemarketing fraud targeted at the elderly. 

“It should come as no surprise, however, that Republicans are seeking yet another way to protect irresponsible corporations. 

“The Washington Post reported that last year’s Republican medical malpractice bill contained special liability protections that would have precluded consumers from suing to recover punitive damages arising from the types of injuries caused by Vioxx and Celebrex. 

“Protecting big drug companies is always at the top of the Republican agenda.  We saw that in the prescription drug bill under Medicare.  This is yet again, another example of the Republicans being the handmaidens of the pharmaceutical industry.

“This bill also runs counter to the principles of federalism that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle claim to support.  It throws thousands of state cases into federal courts that are not equipped to adjudicate state laws. 

“For instance, lawsuits involving the enforcement of state hourly wage laws, which often have greater protections than federal wage laws, would be forced into federal court.  In fact, 46 state attorney generals, on a bipartisan basis, have requested an exemption so that they can continue to protect their citizens under the state consumer protection laws in state courts.

“The Republicans have rejected that request, while Democrats have incorporated it into our substitute.

“Democrats, in our substitute, support sensible approaches that weed out frivolous lawsuits, but not meritorious claims.  Our Democratic substitute says that certain kinds of cases must always have their day in court.  Physical injury cases, civil rights cases, wage and hour cases, state Attorneys General cases, and others must be heard if we are to remain a nation that strives for ‘justice for all.’

“President Harry Truman said it so well. ‘The Democratic Party stands for the people.  The Republican Party stands, and always has stood, for special interests.’   

“I urge my colleagues to stand up to the special interests, to support the Democratic substitute, to listen to the recommendations of the federal judges and the Judicial Conference of the United States, and to oppose this unjust bill.”

“ Democrats are united in presenting a New Direction for America, one that will make our nation as strong as its people, one that brings opportunity, security, and prosperity to all Americans. ”

Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi