Bobby Scott: “I do not support the legislation because it will have a significant adverse effect on the ability of unpopular…”

“I do not support the legislation because it will have a significant adverse effect on the ability of unpopular plaintiffs to seek recourse in our courts, and it will operate to benefit foreign corporate defendants at the expense of domestic counterparts and will skew the playing field against injured victims. Now, a lot of organizations oppose the bill, and I would like to read from a letter from the Judicial Conference of the United States, the Chief Justice of the United States presiding, in a letter to the committee chairman. It says that ``section 2 of the bill would reinstitute a rule eliminated in 1993 upon the recommendation of the Judicial Conference, approved by the Supreme Court, and after review by Congress, because of the serious problems it engendered during a 10-year period of operation. Section 2 also would amend rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in a manner consistent with the longstanding Judicial Conference policy opposing direct amendment of the Federal rules by legislation.''”