Russ Feingold: “once again we are faced with ill-advised medical malpractice bills coming to the Senate floor without any committee…”

“once again we are faced with ill-advised medical malpractice bills coming to the Senate floor without any committee consideration. Some argue that we have a malpractice insurance crisis that is driving doctors from the practice of medicine, particularly in the field of obstetrics and gynecology, or OB/GYN. But we haven't yet explored these issues in the Senate at all. No committee has held hearings or marked up a bill on this topic. Instead, extreme proposals have been brought directly to the floor and Senators are expected to vote for them. Indeed, motions to proceed to two different bills are being considered at the same time because no one really expects them to succeed. This is just a show. That is not how the legislative process should work on an issue of importance to so many people. I will vote no on cloture, as I have repeatedly in the past and will do in the future, until this issue is addressed in a serious way. I would like very much for Congress to address the problem of malpractice insurance premiums once we understand the causes of the problem and the effectiveness of the proposed solutions. But by bringing these bills directly to the floor, the majority simply demonstrates that it is not serious about addressing the problem. It just wants to play a political card. To the extent that there really is a malpractice insurance problem, what is going on here is a cynical exercise, designed only to fail and to provide fodder for political attacks.…”