    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book I)]
    [May 4, 1995]
    [Page 639]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on Proposed Legal Reform Legislation
    May 4, 1995

        The Senate is engaged in the laudable goal of seeking to reform our
    legal system. Yesterday they went much too far by adopting an amendment
    to cap punitive damages in all civil lawsuits. In its present form the
    Senate bill sharply limits the damages paid by many classes of offenders
    who deserve to pay much more to their victims for the harm they have
    inflicted upon them.
        The bill now before the Senate might be called the ``Drunk Drivers
    Protection Act of 1995,'' for what it does is insulate drunk drivers and
    other offenders from paying appropriate amounts of punitive damages
    justified by their deeds. I insist that we hold drunk drivers fully
    responsible. When they cause injury and death to innocent adults and
    children, we should throw the book at them, not give them a legal limit
    on damages to hide behind.
        The Senate should reconsider its position. At the least, it should
    remove damage caps on lawsuits involving drunk drivers, murderers,
    rapists, and abusers of women and children, despoilers of our
    environment like the Exxon Valdez, and perpetrators of terrorist acts
    and hate crimes.
        All of these receive undeserved protection from the present bill.
    The Senate should reserve its compassion for the people who deserve it.
    If this bill comes to my desk as it is now written I will veto it, and
    therefore I encourage the Senate not to vote to limit debate on the bill
    at this time.
        The administration supports the enactment of limited, but
    meaningful, product liability reform at the Federal level. Any
    legislation must fairly balance the interests of consumers with those of
    manufacturers and sellers.