Eva M. Clayton: “I rise in support of H.R. 3528, the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act of 1998. This Bill passed the House in April, by…”

“I rise in support of H.R. 3528, the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act of 1998. This Bill passed the House in April, by a vote of 405 to 2, and it is here again, with Senate Amendments. Alternative Dispute Resolution is commonly referred to as ``ADR.'' ADR includes a range of procedures, such as mediation, arbitration, peer panels and ombudsmen. Traditional dispute resolution in America almost always involves a Plaintiff and a Defendant, battling each other in a court, before a judge or jury, to prove that one is wrong and one is right. It is time consuming, and it is expensive, too expensive for most wage earners to afford, and often too time-consuming to be of much practical use. In addition, as one writer has observed, a process that has to pronounce ``winners and losers necessarily destroys almost any preexisting relationship between the people involved . . . [and] . . . it is virtually impossible to maintain a civil relationship once people have confronted one another across a courtroom.'' The Bill before us requires all U.S. District Courts to establish a voluntary alternative dispute resolution program within the courts.”