Debbie Dingell

Reclaiming my time, this is a little like rape. The issue here is not how much force is used, but just that force is used. The hard fact is 10 minutes to discuss a matter on one side, to discuss a matter of this importance, is not an…

This amendment is necessary to cure the mischief that is included in the appropriations bill which prohibits the use of these kinds of volunteers for this kind of work.

This is particularly true in view of the fact that the Republican Party is also talking about the need to have volunteerism. Here we have a piece of legislation which simply bans volunteerism in a very important area.

And having dealt with the gentleman over the years, I know how adept and adroit my good friend is, but I want to make it clear that he has not answered the question as to what blockhead it was that did this on this particular legislation.

I want to reiterate for the benefit not of my friend, because I know he understands what is going on. I understand the politics of this situation. He has been caught in a political situation where some know-nothing somewhere came to the…

It may well be that that is so, but the hard fact of the matter is that the Fish and Wildlife Service uses them for fish surveys in the Pacific Northwest, something that is extremely important. The salmon are now approaching the status of…

I do not care whether it is heartfelt or not, I want to know if it is factual. I gather you are telling me some of the concerns expressed are not factual.

The gentleman says all this talk about how your substitute is going to hurt agriculture; it cannot, because it is the same language they have in the bill?

This amendment does absolutely nothing to deter litigation. It simply cuts the amount that can be paid to a person who has been wronged by medical malpractice or by other unfortunate improper practices. It denies them proper recovery. If…

The House has already spoken. Foreigners should respond in discovery. But this amendment strikes the ability to even get them in court. It takes away the ability of an American injured by foreign misbehavior in the area of product…

It strikes the proper requirement that foreign companies appoint an agent for purposes of receiving service.

That is correct, but, remember, the language of this bill is not something which is applicable to the kind of lawsuit about which we are addressing under this particular amendment. The language of this bill relates to bounty hunting, to a…

Let me advise my good friend that the protections of this bill have never been extended to investors. The protections of this bill are extended to a bunch of high-priced lobbyists, to a group of people in the accounting profession, large…

If the gentleman would permit, cities, States, counties, local units of government are covered under existing law in all matters; all matters, all fashion, all purposes for a period of 3 years. They are given no additional right over those…

Well, these are the only ones of which I am aware at this particular minute, but I would observe that every day, if you read the Wall Street Journal, you will find that there are new and additional derivatives problems which are afflicting…

Matters of the sort that you see on the poster in the well. You are looking there at, I would say, probably 40 or 50 cities, States, and local units of government as well as possibly a number of State governments where they would be…

The purposes of the amendment are very simple, to permit counties and local units of government, States, to continue to sue under existing law for 3 years. If we are concerned about frivolous litigation, that is not a matter of concern…

I would like to address, if the gentleman would permit, the substance of the amendment, Mr. Chairman. The amendment says ``Except no person may bring an action under this provision if the racketeering activity as defined in section 1961,''…

I was much impressed by the comments of the gentleman from California. The quote that he gave is an excellent one: ``The purpose of the bill is to cut down on litigation and to cut down on fraud committed by unscrupulous lawyers and…

I would like to again address that today. Last week, my colleagues, we discussed the question of cuts in the School Lunch Program. Today we find that my Republican colleagues propose to zero out the Drug-Free Schools Program and also the…

That seems to be consistent with the overall practices that we have observed with regard to legislation. I think that in almost every instance where we have dealt with questions which were involved in the contract in the 100 days we found…

I am just curious. The gentleman is chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary. I am curious why he is in such a rush to get this bill on the floor before he has looked at the kind of misbehavior that I have described or the kind of…

That has always been required to be done by the vote of the committee. It was done by the vote of the committee, not by the whim of the chairman, and that is the change that I find so difficult.

I would observe to you, there is no other way I could get the floor to discuss something which is going to happen on Monday next, on which there has been no notice, on which there has been no opportunity for hearings, which is…