Pete Sessions: “We need, in the course of dealing with computer Y2K problems, a uniform national rule. That is what we are attempting to…”

“We need, in the course of dealing with computer Y2K problems, a uniform national rule. That is what we are attempting to do here. One of the great problems for the computer industry is that they are subject to 50 different State laws. The question is, Can they be unfairly abused in the process of massive litigation? I suggest that they could be, and actually that the entire industry could be placed in serious jeopardy. I recall the hearings we had in the Judiciary Committee on asbestos. There were 200,000 asbestos cases already concluded, and 200,000 more are pending. Some say another 200,000 may be filed. What we know, however, is that in that litigation 70 percent of the asbestos companies are now in bankruptcy. We do not have all the lawsuits completed yet. We also know that only 40 percent of the money they paid out actually got to the victims of this asbestos disease. That is not the way to do it, and that is what is going to happen in this case.”