[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2919 Introduced in House (IH)]

  1st Session
                                H. R. 2919

    To assign liability for injury caused by genetically engineered 
                               organisms.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 25, 2003

   Mr. Kucinich (for himself, Mr. DeFazio, Mr. Sanders, Ms. Lee, Mr. 
 Conyers, Mr. Olver, Mr. Acevedo-Vila, Mr. Gutierrez, Mr. Nadler, Mr. 
    Owens, Ms. Velazquez, Ms. Waters, Ms. Watson, and Ms. Woolsey) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 
                        the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To assign liability for injury caused by genetically engineered 
                               organisms.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Genetically Engineered Organism 
Liability Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The negative consequences of genetically engineered 
        crops may impact farmers who grow these crops, neighbor farmers 
        who do not grow these crops, and consumers.
            (2) Biotech companies are selling a technology that is 
        being commercialized ahead of the new and unknown science of 
        genetic engineering.
            (3) Farmers may suffer from crop failures, neighbor and 
        nearby farmers may suffer from cross pollination, increased 
        insect resistance, and unwanted volunteer genetically 
        engineered plants, and consumers may suffer from health and 
        environmental impacts.
            (4) Therefore, biotech companies should be found liable for 
        the failures of genetically engineered crops when they arise.

SEC. 3. LIABILITY.

    (a) Cause of Action.--A biotech company is liable to any party 
injured by the release of a genetically engineered organism into the 
environment if that injury results from that genetic engineering. The 
prevailing plaintiff in an action under this subsection may recover 
reasonable attorney's fees and other litigation expenses as a part of 
the costs.
    (b) Indemnity.--For the purposes of subsection (a), the term 
``injury'' includes any liability of a person who uses that organism in 
accordance with applicable Federal and other law, if that liability 
arises from that use.
    (c) Not Waivable.--The liability created by subsection (a) may not 
be waived or otherwise avoided by contract.
    (d) Definition.--As used in this section, the term ``biotech 
company'' means a person--
            (1) engaged in the business of genetically engineering an 
        organism; or
            (2) obtaining the patent rights to such an organism for the 
        purposes of commercial exploitation of that organism.
                                 <all>