[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 42 (Tuesday, March 7, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H2734]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                              TORT REFORM

  (Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks).
  Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. I will not even address the lies coming 
from the other side.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to talk about tort reforms we are considering 
this week. They are important to every citizen in this country, so 
important that each of the 50 States is currently considering some type 
of overhaul of their own legal system.
  In my home State of Texas, Governor Bush has declared a state of 
emergency to address these reforms and with good cause. Texas ranked 
fourth in the Nation in million-dollar verdicts between 1990 and 1993. 
Lawsuit abuse is out of control, so out of control it is crippling 
businesses, destroying jobs, and costing every household in Texas 
$2,700 per year.
  Last year alone in Texas prisons there were 1,000 suits filed by 
prisoners for crazy reasons. One for being licked. Yeah, I said licked 
by a horse while on a work detail.
  The time has come for my colleagues to take a giant step for America 
and answer the plea seen on a billboard in a town in south Texas that 
reads, ``Stop Lawsuit Abuse Now.''

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