Louise Slaughter: “I am a cosponsor of the underlying bill, the Workplace Goods Job Growth and Competitiveness Act, H.R. 2005. This bill…”

“I am a cosponsor of the underlying bill, the Workplace Goods Job Growth and Competitiveness Act, H.R. 2005. This bill establishes a uniform nationwide 18-year time limit on the civil liability of manufacturers of durable goods, such as machine tools. Under the measure, civil suits for damages against durable goods manufacturers could be brought only within 18 years after the product enters the stream of commerce. This is a common sense reform proposal that would promote the competitiveness of American manufacturers while simultaneously protecting U.S. workers. My district in Rochester, New York, is a large manufacturing district. We are the proud birthplace of a number of Fortune 500 companies, such as Eastman Kodak, Xerox Corporation, Bausch & Lomb, and Johnson & Johnson. Indeed, we are the largest per capita exporting city in the United States. This region exports more than all but nine States. We are among the top 10 exporting areas in the entire country. But the durable goods manufacturing industry is subject to frequent product liability lawsuits targeted against products that are often decades old and have been resold or modified without the original manufacturer's knowledge or control. The potential liability in these products is literally endless.”