Orrin Hatch: “I rise today to speak about civil justice reform. Many of us had high hopes for tort reform in the 104th Congress, which…”

“I rise today to speak about civil justice reform. Many of us had high hopes for tort reform in the 104th Congress, which has been desperately needed for so many years. Unfortunately, President Clinton has blocked our litigation reform efforts with his stubborn defense of the status quo. I was deeply disappointed with President Clinton's decisions to veto the securities litigation reform bill and then the product liability reform bill. Fortunately, Congress was able to override the securities veto and those important reforms became law over the President's tenacious opposition. That was not the case with product liability reform. Despite over 15 years of bipartisan work in the Congress and despite the tireless efforts of Democrats like Senators Rockefeller and Lieberman, along with Republicans like Senators Gorton and Pressler, we have not been able to make one iota of progress in addressing the product liability crisis facing Americans. Unfortunately, we have learned that President Clinton is unalterably opposed to tort reform and other litigation reform measures, no matter how badly needed they may be and no matter how much litigation is costing American consumers. We should all be very clear about what happens here: Each time President Clinton sides with America's extremely powerful trial lawyers, America's consumers lose. And once again, President Clinton's rhetoric dismally fails to match his actions.”