[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 79 (Tuesday, June 21, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 21, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
           BIOMATERIALS ACCESS ASSURANCE ACT OF 1994--S. 2215

 Mr. DURENBERGER. Mr. President, I rise today to join my friend 
and colleague from Connecticut, Mr. Lieberman, in introducing the 
Biomaterials Access Assurance Act of 1994.
  This bill, in my opinion, represents a significant step forward in 
reducing the costs of medical devices.
  Unless we reform our product liability system, those who make many of 
the life-saving medical devices that we take for granted today may no 
longer be able to purchase the raw materials and components necessary 
to produce their products. Our current product liability system makes 
it much too easy to bring lawsuits against raw materials suppliers, and 
too costly for those suppliers to defend themselves even when they 
ultimately win.
  We in Congress must not allow the 7.4 million people who literally 
owe the quality of their lives to medical devices--and the countless 
others who will depend on medical devices in the years to come--to 
become casualties of an outmoded product liability system.
  The bill we are introducing today will help reform our product 
liability laws to assure raw material suppliers that they will not be 
held liable unless there is real evidence that they were responsible 
for putting a defective device on the market.
  As my colleague from Connecticut says, this bill is good for both 
consumers and business. By reducing the likelihood of expensive 
litigation, it will help ensure that life-saving medical products 
continue to be available to those Americans whose lives--and quality of 
life--literally depend on them.
  Mr. President, I pledge to do all within my power to ensure that this 
measure is enacted in this Congress.