Dick Durbin: “S. 11 is too important for us to consider without deliberation. It is too important for us to ignore that this bill is…”

“S. 11 is too important for us to consider without deliberation. It is too important for us to ignore that this bill is an historic precedent. It will take away from States across America the power they have had from the beginning of this Republic to establish standards for procedure and recovery in civil lawsuits. That is something that, honestly, we do very rarely around here. If we do it, if we consider it, as we are right now, for example, on the asbestos issue, it is with a long and deliberative process. Not so when it comes to medical malpractice. This is being brought to the floor on a take-it-or-leave-it basis. When you say take it or leave it, I hope my colleagues will leave it because the thought that we would limit recovery to $250,000 for pain and suffering for every case defies logic, common sense, and compassion. If you are looking for compassionate conservatives, you won't find them in those supporting this bill.”