[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 10036]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              TORT REFORM

  (Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, today my colleagues will vote on 
H.R. 1215, the so-called Protecting Access to Care Act.
  Disguised as a step toward healthcare affordability, in reality, this 
legislation tramples on the legal rights of Americans harmed in 
healthcare settings.
  This bill would devastate the catastrophically injured by capping 
noneconomic damages at $250,000, a cap that applies even for loss of 
limb, permanent disability, or death of a child or spouse. These caps 
also apply to lawsuits that include accusations of reckless misconduct 
or violent crimes like assault or rape.
  This bill further erodes the right to trial by jury by imposing a 3-
year statute of limitations, which is shorter than most State laws.
  Legal remedies often stand as the test of the last refuge of justice 
for the injured and aggrieved, regardless of wealth or influence. 
Powerful interests have many tools at their disposal to stack the deck 
against vulnerable populations. But the goal of the American court 
system at its purest is to provide equal consideration in the eyes of 
the law. As a nation, our responsibility is to work towards that ideal, 
not undermine it.
  H.R. 1215 is a direct affront to this idea, and I encourage my 
colleagues to vote ``no.''

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