William H. Frist: “the current Congress has taken a stand against frivolous lawsuits, and we have done so in a number of ways as we paint a…”

“the current Congress has taken a stand against frivolous lawsuits, and we have done so in a number of ways as we paint a portrait of the fact that frivolous lawsuits today are not in the interest of the American people. We addressed it in class action reform. We addressed it to a degree with bankruptcy reform, returning to personal responsibility. We will do it with asbestos reform, an issue that has for the last 10, 15, 20 years unfairly resulted in the trial lawyers doing very well, but the patient with cancer, mesothelioma, not being compensated, the victims not being compensated. We will be addressing medical liability at some point in time, hopefully in this Congress, and then gun liability, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which is being addressed today and tomorrow and possibly the next day. This bill is directed at the frivolous lawsuits that today are aimed at gun manufacturers and people who are selling firearms. The bill places responsibility on the criminal for the unlawful use of guns, and that is where that responsibility belongs. Many people believe that the whole gun manufacturing industry is a hugely profitable industry, and that is wrong. It is not. The gun industry is relatively modest. In 1999, the most recent year I have seen, there was an industry total profit of about $200 million. If we put all the manufacturers of firearms together, they would not even make the Fortune 500 list.…”