mr. chairman , i yield myself such time as i may consume . 
mr. chairman , the gentlewoman from california who spoke previously to the gentleman from california who just finished used a couple of words that i would like to return to and clarify . 
she used the word `` madness , '' but anyone listening to this debate or anyone having a firsthand knowledge of frivolous lawsuits knows that the real madness is the filing of thousands of frivolous lawsuits across this country that unfairly tarnish the reputations of innocent citizens , that unfairly destroy the businesses of small business owners across the country . 
that is the type of madness that this bill addresses . 
she also used the phrase `` special interests , '' but again , i think anyone listening to this debate today and anyone knowing firsthand the agony and the losses and the destruction caused by frivolous lawsuits realizes that the special interests that this bill hopes to protect are really the special interests of the american people who have stuttered and staggered and been burdened by frivolous lawsuits too many times and much too often in our history . 
the special interests , if there are any , involved in this legislation again are obvious to those who listened to the debate , the trial lawyers of america ; and , mr. chairman , let me take a minute here just to dwell on that subject because i happen to believe the vast majority of trial lawyers or personal injury lawyers are honorable people and they are members of an honorable profession . 
i think one of the aspects of the debate that most troubles me is , in fact , the lack of sanctioning lawyers who engage in frivolous lawsuits by the trial lawyers of america . 
their own code of conduct reads as follows : `` no atla member shall file or maintain a frivolous suit , issue or position. '' we checked and not a single member of the trial lawyers association , not a single lawyer , had been sanctioned in the last 2 years ; and , in fact , no one can even tell us when the last time any attorney was sanctioned for filing a frivolous lawsuit . 
i think the trial lawyers would have a lot more credibility on this subject if , in fact , they had monitored their own ranks and , in fact , had sanctioned just a single trial lawyer for filing one of those tens of thousands of frivolous lawsuits that have been filed . 
that , as i say , is discouraging ; and i hope the trial lawyers of america will see fit in the future to sanction some attorney somewhere , somehow who has filed a frivolous lawsuit . 
mr. chairman , anyone who is worried about what frivolous lawsuits will do to them , their family , their friends or their businesses ought to oppose this substitute amendment . 
it is an amendment that would do very little to prevent frivolous lawsuits . 
the underlying bill , however , will deter lawyers from filing those frivolous lawsuits . 
let me give some examples of actual suits that are frivolous , but that would be allowed under the democratic substitute amendment . 
a new jersey man filed suit against galloway township school district claiming that assigned seating in a school lunchroom violated his 12-year-old daughter 's right to free speech . 
a florida high school senior filed suit after her picture was left out of the school 's yearbook . 
an arizona man filed suit against his hometown after he broke his leg sliding into third base during a softball tournament . 
an alabama person sued the school district after his daughter did not make the cheerleading squad , claiming that the rejection caused her humiliation and mental anguish . 
the families of two north haven , connecticut , sophomores filed suit because of the school 's decision to drop the students from the drum majorette squad . 
a pennsylvania teenager sued her former softball coach , claiming that the coach 's incorrect teaching style ruined her chances for an athletic scholarship . 
after a wreck in which an indiana man collided with a woman who was talking on her cell phone , the man sued the cell phone manufacturer . 
a knoxville , tennessee , woman sued mcdonald 's , alleging that a hot pickle dropped from a hamburger burned her chin and caused her mental injury . 
a michigan man filed suit claiming that television ads that showed bud light as the source of fantasies involving tropical settings and beautiful women misled him and caused him physical and mental injury , emotional distress , and financial loss . 
a woman sued universal studios trying to get damages because the theme park 's haunted house was too scary . 
in every one of these instances and in thousands of others , the individuals sued were forced to spend considerable amounts of money , time and effort to defend themselves . 
this is a travesty of justice , and it is simply wrong . 
h.r. 420 will end the filing of frivolous lawsuits . 
unfortunately , the substitute amendment will still allow small businesses , churches , schools , hospitals , sports leagues , cities and others to be burdened with these meritless and frivolous claims . 
this substitute amendment provides no disincentive to file a frivolous lawsuit . 
it would still subject small business owners to the cost of frivolous lawsuits and subject individuals to the cost of rising insurance premiums and health care costs that result from frivolous lawsuits . 
in other words , mr. chairman , this substitute amendment does not provide any relief to those who would be unfairly targeted by frivolous lawsuits . 
the underlying bill would . 
the substitute includes no real consequences for the attorney who repeatedly files frivolous lawsuits . 
the underlying bill does . 
the substitute includes nothing to address the problem of forum shopping which is also a large part of the problem . 
the underlying bill does . 
mr. chairman , i urge my colleagues to oppose the substitute amendment and vote `` yes '' on the underlying bill , which , in fact , would deter lawsuit abuse . 
mr. chairman , i yield back the balance of my time . 
