[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 44 (Thursday, March 9, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H2898]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                              TORT REFORM

  (Mr. CHABOT asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
    
    
  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I rise to make a confession. There was a 
time in my life when I was a member of both the American Bar 
Association and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. But I 
resigned from both organizations some years ago when I came to realize 
that the interests of the legal elite do not always coincide with the 
public interest. I am happy to say that redemption is possible, and I 
am here to urge courage in the fight for legal reforms.
  Now, I can also tell my colleagues that not all trial layers are bad, 
at least most of them are not. They serve a necessary function in our 
society and no one here is arguing to put them out of business. Granted 
there are some lawyers who are convinced that their lifestyle depends 
upon defending every excess of the tort system, no matter how 
senseless, no matter how much it adds to the cost of everyday goods and 
services. But we are on the side of the ordinary people of this 
country, the consumers.
  Maybe our response to the lawyers who do not like these reforms is: 
If you do not like it, sue us.

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