[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 15 (Wednesday, February 16, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H461-H463]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 2366, SMALL BUSINESS LIABILITY 
                           REFORM ACT OF 2000

  Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I 
call up House Resolution 423 and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 423

       Resolved, That at any time after the adoption of this 
     resolution the Speaker may, pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule 
     XVIII, declare the House resolved into the Committee of the 
     Whole House on the state of the Union for consideration of 
     the bill (H.R. 2366) to provide small businesses certain 
     protections from litigation excesses and to limit the product 
     liability of nonmanufacturer product sellers. The first 
     reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. General debate 
     shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour 
     equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking 
     minority member of the Committee on the Judiciary. After 
     general debate the bill shall be considered for

[[Page H462]]

     amendment under the five-minute rule. It shall be in order to 
     consider as an original bill for the purpose of amendment 
     under the five-minute rule the amendment in the nature of a 
     substitute recommended by the Committee on the Judiciary now 
     printed in the bill. The committee amendment in the nature of 
     a substitute shall be considered as read. No amendment to the 
     committee amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be in 
     order except those printed in the report of the Committee on 
     Rules accompanying this resolution. Each amendment may be 
     offered only in the order printed in the report, may be 
     offered only by a Member designated in the report, shall be 
     considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified 
     in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent 
     and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall 
     not be subject to a demand for division of the question in 
     the House or in the Committee of the Whole. All points of 
     order against the amendments printed in the report are 
     waived. The Chairman of the Committee of the Whole may: (1) 
     postpone until a time during further consideration in the 
     Committee of the Whole a request for a recorded vote on any 
     amendment; and (2) reduce to five minutes the minimum time 
     for electronic voting on any postponed question that follows 
     another electronic vote without intervening business, 
     provided that the minimum time for electronic voting on the 
     first in any series of questions shall be 15 minutes. At the 
     conclusion of consideration of the bill for amendment the 
     Committee shall rise and report the bill to the House with 
     such amendments as may have been adopted. Any Member may 
     demand a separate vote in the House on any amendment adopted 
     in the Committee of the Whole to the bill or to the committee 
     amendment in the nature of a substitute. The previous 
     question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and 
     amendments thereto to final passage without intervening 
     motion except one motion to recommit with or without 
     instructions.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. LaTourette). The gentleman from Georgia 
(Mr. Linder) is recognized for 1 hour.
  Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the 
customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hall), pending 
which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration 
of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.
  Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 423 is a fair structured rule providing 
for consideration of H.R. 2366, the Small Business Liability Reform Act 
of 2000. H. Res. 423 provides one hour of general debate, equally 
divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of 
the Committee on the Judiciary. The rule makes in order the Committee 
on the Judiciary's amendment in the nature of a substitute now printed 
in the bill as an original bill for the purpose of amendment.
  House Resolution 423 makes in order those amendments printed in the 
Committee on Rules report accompanying this resolution. These 
amendments may be offered only in the order printed in the report and 
may be offered only by a Member designated in the report.
  Additionally, these amendments, may be considered as read, shall be 
debatable for the time specified in the report, equally divided and 
controlled by a proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to an 
amendment, and cannot be divided in the House or the Committee of the 
Whole. The rule waives all points of order against the amendments 
printed in the report.

                              {time}  1100

  Mr. Speaker, the Committee on Rules has made in order three 
amendments offered by Democrats and one amendment offered by the 
majority. I want to briefly discuss the amendments that will be 
discussed on the floor following general debate.
  First, an amendment to be offered by the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. 
Hutchinson) would permit a court to exceed the $250,000 cap on punitive 
damages if it finds by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant 
acted with specific intent to cause the type of harm for which action 
was brought.
  Second, an amendment to be offered by the gentleman from Virginia 
(Mr. Moran) would clarify that the term ``punitive damages'' does not 
include civil penalties, civil fines or treble damages assessed or 
enforced by a government agency under Federal or State statute.
  Third, an amendment to be offered by the gentleman from North 
Carolina (Mr. Watt) to eliminate a provision in the bill which 
precludes Federal court jurisdiction.
  Finally, the rule makes in order a comprehensive amendment that will 
be offered jointly by the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers), the 
ranking minority member of the Committee on the Judiciary, and the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott).
  Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 423 permits the Chairman of the Committee of the 
Whole to postpone votes during consideration of the bill and to reduce 
voting time to 5 minutes on a postponed question if that vote follows a 
15-minute vote.
  Finally, the rule provides one motion to recommit with or without 
instructions, as is the right of the minority.
  Mr. Speaker, with all of the accolades that have circulated in recent 
days as the country enters its 107th month of tremendous economic 
growth, I place my congratulations with the American worker. With that, 
we must make special recognition for the small businessman. It is these 
innovative, determined and resourceful employers that employ 60 percent 
of America's workforce and have been the engine behind the economy that 
has brought our Nation so much success.
  However, despite their success, many small business owners still 
operate out of fear. But they do not fear missing a rent payment or 
sending a shipment late. Instead, small business owners alter their 
business plans, forego promising opportunities, and avoid hiring the 
next employee because they fear the ambiguous concept of ``liability.''
  When I was an owner of businesses before coming to Congress, I 
thought it was hard enough to manage the here and now: financing, 
sales, and competition. Today, though, thousands of employers have to 
consider what could be, simply because they know that a lawyer is 
always waiting for them to misstep. One hit from a liability lawsuit 
will kill the average small business, and when that happens, they have 
not only lost their savings, but they have put their employees out of 
work and ended their dreams of building their business into an 
important part of the American economy.
  The Small Business Liability Reform Act will end this culture of fear 
and return some measure of security to important decisions that come 
daily for the average small business owner. The bill establishes 
uniform liability rules that will promote fairness within the justice 
system, prevent frivolous lawsuits, and restore sanity to a tort system 
that often employs a scattershot method to liability. Specifically, the 
bill ensures that small businesses pay their fair share of noneconomic 
damages without exposing them to disproportionate penalties that 
threaten the viability of otherwise law-abiding businesses.
  Mr. Speaker, I applaud my friend from California (Mr. Rogan) for his 
hard work on this legislation which provides small businesses with a 
measure of stability and predictability when considering how best to 
direct their operations in the current legal climate. I encourage every 
Member to support this fair rule and the underlying bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HALL of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I want to thank the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Linder) for yielding 
me the customary time.
  This is a restrictive rule which will allow for the consideration of 
H.R. 2366, which is the Small Business Liability Reform Act. As my 
colleague from Georgia has explained, this rule provides for 1 hour of 
general debate to be equally divided and controlled by the Chairman and 
ranking minority member of the Committee on the Judiciary.
  The bill limits the punitive damages against small businesses. It 
also reduces liability of retailers, wholesalers, and distributors. 
Product liability claims are often a burden on small businesses and on 
product sellers. The mere threat of litigation, even if frivolous, is 
enough sometimes to curtail the activities of some small businesses. 
This bill attempts to address these and other liability-related 
challenges facing small businesses and product sellers.
  Unfortunately, the sweeping reforms in this bill could have many 
negative consequences, and the President has threatened to veto if 
enacted in its present form.
  This restrictive rule gives few opportunities to improve the bill. 
Under the

[[Page H463]]

rule, only four amendments selected by the Committee on Rules majority 
may be offered on the House floor.
  One of the amendments the Committee on Rules denied would have been 
offered by the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren) and others. 
This amendment maintained the existing legal authority to hold fully 
accountable unethical gun dealers and the manufacturers of cheap 
Saturday night specials.
  Mr. Speaker, too many crimes in our Nation take place with easily 
available guns, and we need every tool we can to end this plague of 
violence. That is why more than 20 cities and counties in the country 
are holding manufacturers and dealers liable. It is a valuable tool in 
the battle against gun violence.
  Without the Lofgren amendment, this bill will make it more difficult 
for cities and counties to use this tool. The organization, Handgun 
Control, labeled the bill ``The Gun Industry Relief Act'' because it 
lets some manufacturers and dealers off the hook for their actions.
  The Committee on Rules should have made this amendment in order so 
that it could be fully debated on the House floor. However, the 
Committee on Rules, on a 6-3 straight party-line vote rejected it. I 
regret that so early in the session this year the Committee on Rules is 
starting with restrictive rules like this.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I 
move the previous question on the resolution.
  The previous question was ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. LaTourette). The question is on the 
resolution.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. HALL of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground 
that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum 
is not present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Evidently a quorum is not present.
  The Sergeant at Arms will notify absent Members.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 223, 
nays 187, not voting 24, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 23]

                               YEAS--223

     Aderholt
     Archer
     Armey
     Bachus
     Baker
     Ballenger
     Barr
     Barrett (NE)
     Bartlett
     Barton
     Bass
     Bateman
     Bereuter
     Biggert
     Bilbray
     Bilirakis
     Bliley
     Blunt
     Boehlert
     Boehner
     Bonilla
     Bono
     Boyd
     Brady (TX)
     Bryant
     Burr
     Burton
     Buyer
     Calvert
     Camp
     Canady
     Cannon
     Castle
     Chabot
     Chambliss
     Chenoweth-Hage
     Coble
     Coburn
     Collins
     Combest
     Condit
     Cook
     Cox
     Cramer
     Crane
     Cubin
     Cunningham
     Davis (VA)
     Deal
     DeLay
     DeMint
     Diaz-Balart
     Dickey
     Doolittle
     Dreier
     Duncan
     Dunn
     Ehlers
     Ehrlich
     Emerson
     English
     Everett
     Ewing
     Fletcher
     Foley
     Fossella
     Fowler
     Franks (NJ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Gallegly
     Ganske
     Gekas
     Gibbons
     Gilchrest
     Gillmor
     Gilman
     Goode
     Goodlatte
     Goodling
     Goss
     Granger
     Green (WI)
     Greenwood
     Gutknecht
     Hansen
     Hastings (WA)
     Hayes
     Hayworth
     Hefley
     Herger
     Hill (MT)
     Hilleary
     Hobson
     Hoekstra
     Horn
     Hostettler
     Houghton
     Hulshof
     Hunter
     Hutchinson
     Hyde
     Isakson
     Istook
     Jenkins
     Johnson (CT)
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones (NC)
     Kasich
     Kelly
     King (NY)
     Kingston
     Knollenberg
     Kolbe
     Kuykendall
     LaHood
     Largent
     Latham
     LaTourette
     Lazio
     Leach
     Lewis (CA)
     Lewis (KY)
     Linder
     LoBiondo
     Lucas (KY)
     Lucas (OK)
     Manzullo
     McCrery
     McHugh
     McInnis
     McIntosh
     McKeon
     Metcalf
     Mica
     Miller (FL)
     Miller, Gary
     Moran (KS)
     Moran (VA)
     Nethercutt
     Ney
     Northup
     Norwood
     Nussle
     Ose
     Oxley
     Packard
     Paul
     Pease
     Peterson (MN)
     Peterson (PA)
     Petri
     Pickering
     Pitts
     Pombo
     Porter
     Portman
     Pryce (OH)
     Quinn
     Radanovich
     Ramstad
     Regula
     Reynolds
     Riley
     Roemer
     Rogan
     Rogers
     Rohrabacher
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Roukema
     Royce
     Ryan (WI)
     Ryun (KS)
     Salmon
     Saxton
     Scarborough
     Schaffer
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shadegg
     Shaw
     Shays
     Sherwood
     Shimkus
     Shuster
     Simpson
     Sisisky
     Skeen
     Smith (MI)
     Smith (TX)
     Souder
     Spence
     Stearns
     Stenholm
     Stump
     Sununu
     Sweeney
     Talent
     Tancredo
     Tauzin
     Taylor (MS)
     Taylor (NC)
     Terry
     Thomas
     Thornberry
     Thune
     Toomey
     Traficant
     Upton
     Vitter
     Walden
     Walsh
     Wamp
     Watkins
     Watts (OK)
     Weldon (FL)
     Weldon (PA)
     Weller
     Whitfield
     Wicker
     Wilson
     Wolf
     Young (AK)
     Young (FL)

                               NAYS--187

     Abercrombie
     Ackerman
     Allen
     Andrews
     Baca
     Baldwin
     Barcia
     Barrett (WI)
     Becerra
     Bentsen
     Berkley
     Berman
     Berry
     Blagojevich
     Blumenauer
     Bonior
     Borski
     Boswell
     Boucher
     Brady (PA)
     Brown (FL)
     Capuano
     Cardin
     Carson
     Clayton
     Clement
     Clyburn
     Conyers
     Costello
     Coyne
     Crowley
     Cummings
     Danner
     Davis (FL)
     Davis (IL)
     DeGette
     Delahunt
     DeLauro
     Deutsch
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Dixon
     Doggett
     Dooley
     Doyle
     Edwards
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Etheridge
     Evans
     Farr
     Fattah
     Filner
     Forbes
     Ford
     Frank (MA)
     Gejdenson
     Gephardt
     Gonzalez
     Gordon
     Green (TX)
     Hall (OH)
     Hall (TX)
     Hastings (FL)
     Hill (IN)
     Hilliard
     Hinchey
     Hinojosa
     Hoeffel
     Holden
     Holt
     Hooley
     Hoyer
     Inslee
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson-Lee (TX)
     Jefferson
     John
     Johnson, E.B.
     Jones (OH)
     Kanjorski
     Kaptur
     Kennedy
     Kildee
     Kilpatrick
     Kind (WI)
     Kleczka
     Klink
     Kucinich
     LaFalce
     Lampson
     Lantos
     Larson
     Lee
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     Lipinski
     Lofgren
     Luther
     Maloney (CT)
     Maloney (NY)
     Markey
     Mascara
     Matsui
     McCarthy (MO)
     McCarthy (NY)
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McKinney
     McNulty
     Meehan
     Meek (FL)
     Meeks (NY)
     Menendez
     Millender-McDonald
     Miller, George
     Minge
     Mink
     Moakley
     Mollohan
     Moore
     Morella
     Murtha
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Oberstar
     Obey
     Olver
     Ortiz
     Owens
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Pastor
     Payne
     Pelosi
     Phelps
     Pickett
     Pomeroy
     Price (NC)
     Rahall
     Rangel
     Reyes
     Rivers
     Rodriguez
     Rothman
     Roybal-Allard
     Rush
     Sabo
     Sanchez
     Sanders
     Sandlin
     Sawyer
     Schakowsky
     Scott
     Serrano
     Sherman
     Shows
     Skelton
     Slaughter
     Smith (WA)
     Spratt
     Stabenow
     Stark
     Strickland
     Stupak
     Tanner
     Tauscher
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Thurman
     Tierney
     Towns
     Turner
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Waters
     Watt (NC)
     Waxman
     Weiner
     Wexler
     Wise
     Woolsey
     Wu
     Wynn

                             NOT VOTING--24

     Baird
     Baldacci
     Bishop
     Brown (OH)
     Callahan
     Campbell
     Capps
     Clay
     Cooksey
     DeFazio
     Frost
     Graham
     Gutierrez
     Lowey
     Martinez
     McCollum
     McIntyre
     Myrick
     Sanford
     Smith (NJ)
     Snyder
     Tiahrt
     Vento
     Weygand

                              {time}  1130

  Ms. DeGETTE, Ms. RIVERS, and Messrs. FORBES, RANGEL, MINGE, CLYBURN 
and CUMMINGS changed their vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
  So the resolution was agreed to.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________