Gus Bilirakis: “Mr. Speaker, simply put, it is imperative that we bring some uniformity to tort law in respect to product liability. If…”

“Mr. Speaker, simply put, it is imperative that we bring some uniformity to tort law in respect to product liability. If we hope to compete in an equal marketplace, if we hope to protect our Nation's citizens without hamstringing our industries and our quality of life, we must meet this challenge squarely today. We come armed with study after study documenting the adverse impact of widely varying State tort laws on competitiveness, innovation, and even safety: it's not working, it's broke and it's long past time to fix it. Under our current system, we are, in effect, exporting American ideas. With outrageous liability awards hanging over their heads like the sword of Damocles, U.S. manufacturers often dare not bring much-needed, much-requested products to market. Mr. Speaker, our foreign competitors eagerly fill that gap. They have not burdened themselves with the crushing product liability costs borne by U.S. manufacturers--and, in the end, consumers. Nowhere--not west of us on the Pacific rim nor east of us in the European Economic Community--are liability standards so onerous as they are in the United States.”