Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I thank Dr. Roe, the gentleman from Tennessee, for bringing this amendment. Looking at the language here, it is interesting that the concern was that the witnesses may not be available within a large State. I notice, as I read the language, that unless the person was licensed for practice in the State or a contiguous border State--that is pretty good. If you are Hawaii, maybe not so good. But Dr. Roe, typical to his style, anticipated these things by putting the waiver authority in the last provision in the amendment, which says: ``The court may waive the requirements in this subsection if it determines that the appropriate witnesses otherwise would not be available.'' So this is a sound, well thought-out directive that ensures that we have a high level of professionalism. When the gentleman earlier talked about a jury of your peers, what about having professionals who are highly credentialed that do understand the locality and the normal practices within the region? So not only do I support this amendment, but I encourage its adoption. It requires expert witnesses to have knowledge of the standard of care in their local communities. It is a commonsense amendment, and I urge its adoption.”