Dan Coats: “this has truly been a year of reform. Since the outset of this Congress, the pervasive theme has been to fundamentally…”

“this has truly been a year of reform. Since the outset of this Congress, the pervasive theme has been to fundamentally change a system of government that has gone awry. Thus far, most of these efforts at reform have been targeted at the Congress, and rightfully so. As some have said, we must first stop the bleeding. However, there are many very formidable tasks before us. One of which we discuss today. Mr. President, I rise today to dedicate my support to the effort to reform the product liability system. Justice in America is fundamentally rooted in the principles of the equality, expedience, and accessibility. Our current system of product liability is in conflict with all of these principles. Where product liability cases are concerned, we certainly, cannot say that there is equality in the system. There is a total lack of uniformity in the current product liability system. Due to the broad diversity of legal standards from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, it is absolutely impossible to predict what, when and how you will be compensated for losses resulting from a faulty product. Where businesses are concerned, this unpredictability leads to disproportionately high risk calculations and insurance rates as companies are forced to calculate the worst-case-scenario in assessing liability risk. These risk costs have, not only an adverse effect on those directly involved in any particular case, but on all Americans.”