mr. speaker , i thank the gentleman from georgia for yielding me this time and , frankly , for making that important point , that this matter is proceeding to this floor under a bipartisan unanimous vote by the committee on rules ; and the suggestion that the process was unfair or defective is not borne out by both the nature of the debate in the committee on rules and by the unanimous vote that sent this rule to the floor . 
let me move now , mr. speaker , to my prepared remarks . 
i rise today in support of the rule for s. 5 , the class action fairness act of 2005 . 
i believe it to be a fair rule and one that allows us to fully explore the issues surrounding this legislation . 
furthermore , it makes in order a substantive amendment in the nature of a substitute that the gentleman from michigan ( mr. conyers ) xz4000800 has worked hard to produce . 
i believe that this will allow a spirited debate and one that will fully explore the many complex issues surrounding class-action reform while still enabling the house to act in an expeditious fashion . 
mr. speaker , while i fully agree that class-action lawsuits are a legitimate tool in civil procedure , these lawsuits are a tool that has been frequently abused over the past years . 
there exist a certain small subset of attorneys who do not represent the best traditions of their colleagues in the legal profession and primarily are concerned with lining their pockets by abusing the class-action process . 
often , this is done through the popular so-called coupon settlement process , where the class of plaintiffs only receive coupons to use from the very same companies they are suing , while the attorneys walk away from the table with millions in cash . 
mr. speaker , this legislation is a necessary step to better ensure and protect our citizens ' rights . 
the ongoing flood of meritless labor and employment litigation has often destroyed reputable companies and has resulted in thousands of layoffs and business restructurings that hurt innocent workers and shareholders alike . 
this legislation would incentivize only those who have legitimate class-action claims to move forward in the legal process and , at the same time , it would disincentivize lawyers from filing meritless claims by increasing sanctions against those who do so . 
mr. speaker , this legislation is a necessary first step and the rule that accompanies it is one that i believe all members should support . 
those who support another approach have the full opportunity to explore it in the minority 's amendment in the nature of a substitute . 
therefore , i urge all members to support the rule and the underlying legislation . 
