[House Report 113-264]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


113th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    113-264

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PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE BILL (H.R. 2655) TO AMEND RULE 11 OF 
       THE FEDERAL RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE TO IMPROVE ATTORNEY 
ACCOUNTABILITY, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES, AND PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION 
 OF THE BILL (H.R. 982) TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE UNITED STATES CODE TO 
   REQUIRE THE PUBLIC DISCLOSURE BY TRUSTS ESTABLISHED UNDER SECTION 
   524(G) OF SUCH TITLE, OF QUARTERLY REPORTS THAT CONTAIN DETAILED 
    INFORMATION REGARDING THE RECEIPT AND DISPOSITION OF CLAIMS FOR 
     INJURIES BASED ON EXPOSURE TO ASBESTOS; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

                                _______
                                

 November 12, 2013.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be 
                                printed

                                _______
                                

               Mr. Woodall, from the Committee on Rules, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                       [To accompany H. Res. 403]

    The Committee on Rules, having had under consideration 
House Resolution 403, by a nonrecord vote, report the same to 
the House with the recommendation that the resolution be 
adopted.

                SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS OF THE RESOLUTION

    The resolution provides for consideration of H.R. 2655, the 
Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act of 2013, under a closed rule. The 
resolution provides one hour of debate equally divided and 
controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the 
Committee on the Judiciary. The resolution waives all points of 
order against consideration of the bill and provides that it 
shall be considered as read. The resolution waives all points 
of order against provisions in the bill. The resolution 
provides one motion to recommit.
    The resolution also provides for consideration of H.R. 982, 
the Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency (FACT) Act of 2013, 
under a structured rule. The resolution provides one hour of 
general debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and 
ranking minority member of the Committee on the Judiciary. The 
resolution waives all points of order against consideration of 
the bill and provides that it shall be considered as read. The 
resolution waives all points of order against provisions in the 
bill. The resolution makes in order only those amendments 
printed in this report. Each such amendment may be offered only 
in the order printed in this report, may be offered only by a 
Member designated in this report, shall be considered as read, 
shall be debatable for the time specified in this 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. The resolution waives all 
points of order against the amendments printed in this report. 
The resolution provides one motion to recommit with or without 
instructions.

                         EXPLANATION OF WAIVERS

    Although the resolution waives all points of order against 
consideration of H.R. 2655, the Committee is not aware of any 
points of order. The waiver is prophylactic in nature.
    Although the resolution waives all points of order against 
provisions in H.R. 2655, the Committee is not aware of any 
points of order. The waiver is prophylactic in nature.
    Although the resolution waives all points of order against 
consideration of H.R. 982, the Committee is not aware of any 
points of order. The waiver is prophylactic in nature.
    Although the resolution waives all points of order against 
provisions in H.R. 982, the Committee is not aware of any 
points of order. The waiver is prophylactic in nature.
    Although the resolution waives all points of order against 
the amendments to H.R. 982 printed in this report, the 
Committee is not aware of any points of order. The waiver is 
prophylactic in nature.

                SUMMARY OF THE AMENDMENTS MADE IN ORDER

    1. Cohen (TN): Exempts from the bill asbestos trusts with 
internal anti-fraud procedures. (10 minutes)
    2. Nadler (NY): Protects public health and safety by adding 
a requirement that any party seeking payment information from a 
trust must also make available information relevant to such 
action that pertains to public health or safety. (10 minutes)
    3. Jackson Lee (TX): Applies the transparency rules in the 
bill equally to asbestos industry defendants by requiring 
asbestos companies to report information about the location of 
their asbestos-containing products and provides an exception 
for trade secrets. (10 minutes)

                    TEXT OF AMENDMENTS MADE IN ORDER

 1. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Cohen of Tennessee or 
                 His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Page 3, line 9, insert ``that does not have a claims audit 
program intended to ensure that claims are valid and supported 
and that is'' after ``trust''.
                              ----------                              


 2. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Nadler of New York or 
                 His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Page 4, beginning on line 5, strike ``if'' and all that 
follows through ``exposure.'', and insert the following:
                if--
                          (i) the subject of such action 
                        concerns liability for asbestos 
                        exposure; and
                          (ii) such party agrees to make 
                        available (upon written request) 
                        information relevant to such action 
                        that pertains to the protection of 
                        public health or safety to any other 
                        person or to any Federal or State 
                        entity that has authority to enforce a 
                        law regulating an activity relating to 
                        such information.
                              ----------                              


3. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Jackson Lee of Texas or 
                 Her Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Beginning on page 3, strike line 9 and all that follows 
through line 6 on page 4, and insert the following:
          ``(8)(A) A trust described in paragraph (2) shall, 
        subject to subsection (B) and section 107, provide upon 
        written request and subject to payment (demanded at the 
        option of the trust) for any reasonable cost incurred 
        by the trust to comply with such request, to any party 
        that is a defendant in a pending court action relating 
        to asbestos exposure, information that is directly 
        relates to the plaintiff's claim in such action.
          ``(B) A defendant requesting information under 
        subparagraph (A) shall first disclose to such plaintiff 
        and such trust, subject to an appropriate protective 
        order--
                  ``(i) the name of each asbestos-containing 
                product mined, manufactured, sold, or purchased 
                by the defendant at any point in time and the 
                name and location of each worksite under such 
                defendant's control at any point in time at 
                which such asbestos was mined or such product 
                was manufactured; and
                  ``(ii) each location at which such product 
                was sold or purchased by such defendant;
        except that such information shall not include any 
        information that is a trade secret.''.

                                  
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