[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3921 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3921

To provide nationwide subpoena authority for actions brought under the 
             September 11 Victim Compensation Fund of 2001.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 22, 2007

Mr. Bishop of New York (for himself, Mr. Hall of New York, Mr. King of 
New York, Mr. Weiner, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Emanuel, Mr. Markey, Ms. Jackson-
Lee of Texas, Mrs. Maloney of New York, and Mr. Feeney) introduced the 
  following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide nationwide subpoena authority for actions brought under the 
             September 11 Victim Compensation Fund of 2001.

    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 ``Procedural Fairness for September 11 
Victims Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The September 11th Victims Compensation Fund of 2001 
        (49 U.S.C. 40101 note) establishes a Federal cause of action in 
        the United States District Court for the Southern District of 
        New York as the exclusive remedy for damages arising out of the 
        hijacking and subsequent crash of American Airlines flights 11 
        and 77, and United Airlines flights 93 and 175, on September 
        11, 2001.
            (2) Rules 45(b)(2) and 45(c)(3)(A)(ii) of the Federal Rules 
        of Civil Procedure effectively limit service of a subpoena to 
        any place within, or within 100 miles of, the district of the 
        court by which it is issued, unless a statute of the United 
        States expressly provides that the court, upon proper 
        application and cause shown, may authorize the service of a 
        subpoena at any other place.
            (3) Litigating a Federal cause of action under the 
        September 11 Victims Compensation Fund of 2001 is likely to 
        involve the testimony and the production of other documents and 
        tangible things by a substantial number of witnesses, many of 
        whom may not reside, be employed, or regularly transact 
        business in, or within 100 miles of, the Southern District of 
        New York.

SEC. 3. NATIONWIDE SUBPOENAS.

    Section 408(b) of the September 11 Victims Compensation Fund of 
2001 (49 U.S.C. 40101 note) is amended in by adding at the end the 
following:
            ``(4) Nationwide subpoenas.--
                    ``(A) In general.--A subpoena requiring the 
                attendance of a witness at trial or a hearing conducted 
                under this section may be served at any place in the 
                United States.
                    ``(B) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this 
                subsection is intended to diminish the authority of a 
                court to quash or modify a subpoena for the reasons 
                provided in clause (i), (iii), or (iv) of subparagraph 
                (A) or subparagraph (B) of rule 45(c)(3) of the Federal 
                Rules of Civil Procedure.''.
                                 <all>