[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3088 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3088

 To require an automobile manufacturer that the Federal Government has 
   an ownership interest in or that has an outstanding loan from the 
 Federal Government to purchase liability insurance from an insurance 
                                company.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 26, 2009

 Mr. Carson of Indiana (for himself and Mr. Braley of Iowa) introduced 
 the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial 
                                Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require an automobile manufacturer that the Federal Government has 
   an ownership interest in or that has an outstanding loan from the 
 Federal Government to purchase liability insurance from an insurance 
                                company.

    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 ``Jeremy Warriner Consumer Protection 
Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Product liability is an important legal mechanism to 
        ensure that those who make products available to the public are 
        held responsible for the injuries those products cause.
            (2) American consumers have a legal right to obtain 
        compensation for injuries caused by defectively designed or 
        built cars.
            (3) Under its purchase agreement, newly restructured 
        Chrysler will not have product liability for millions of 
        existing Chrysler vehicles currently on the road, potentially 
        leaving hundreds of individuals and families uncompensated for 
        injuries caused by vehicle defects.
            (4) Under ongoing bankruptcy proceedings, General Motors is 
        likely to sell its assets under similar terms to those of 
        Chrysler, in this case leaving those who have been or might be 
        injured by any of the tens of millions of existing General 
        Motors vehicles with no effective legal recourse for product 
        liability.
            (5) There are more than 10 million Chrysler and 30 million 
        General Motors vehicles currently on the road that are subject 
        to safety recalls and, on average, there will be 500 to 1,000 
        serious auto injuries or fatalities in these vehicles every 
        year.
            (6) Taking away the legal right to seek compensation for 
        injuries will result in no accountability for companies that 
        put cars with defects on the market.
            (7) Without compensation, many innocent victims will be 
        left struggling to pay massive medical bills while potentially 
        being unable to work. These health care and disability costs 
        will be borne by State and Federal governments, at a time when 
        they can least afford it.

SEC. 3. INSURANCE REQUIREMENT.

    (a) In General.--Any automobile manufacturer that the Federal 
Government has an ownership interest in or that has an outstanding loan 
from the Federal Government shall purchase liability insurance from an 
insurance company.
    (b) Insurance Specifications.--
            (1) In general.--The liability insurance described under 
        subsection (a) shall provide products liability coverage in 
        sums that are actuarially reasonable for--
                    (A) all products that the manufacturer has marketed 
                or sold in the United States;
                    (B) all products that any predecessor corporation 
                of the manufacturer has marketed or sold in the United 
                States; and
                    (C) all future products that the manufacturer 
                markets or sells in the United States.
            (2) Successor entity coverage.--The liability insurance 
        described under subsection (a) shall provide for the coverage 
        of any successor entity of the manufacturer as an additional 
        insured.
            (3) Self-retention limits.--The liability insurance 
        described under subsection (a) may have self-retention limits, 
        but such limits may not be greater than $200,000 per claim.
    (c) No Defense Based on Bankruptcy.--If an automobile manufacturer 
described in subsection (a), or any successor entity, is a named 
insured under a liability insurance plan, any defense predicated upon 
Bankruptcy to a liability claim involving such plan shall be null and 
void.
    (d) Rulemaking.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration shall initiate a rulemaking proceeding to 
implement the insurance requirement under this section.
    (e) Civil Penalty.--The Administrator of the National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration may impose a civil penalty against any 
automobile manufacturer for each violation of subsection (a) in an 
amount not to exceed 5 times the amount the Administrator determines it 
would have cost such manufacturer to purchase liability insurance 
described under subsection (a).
                                 <all>