madam speaker , i yield myself such time as i may consume . 
madam speaker , with the consideration of this legislation , the majority begins their assault on our nation 's civil justice system . 
today we will attempt to preempt state class actions . 
next month we will take up a bankruptcy bill that massively tilts the playing field in favor of credit card companies and against ordinary consumers and workers alike . 
on deck and pending are equally one-sided medical malpractice bills and asbestos bills that both cap damages and eliminate liability to protect some of the most egregious wrongdoers in america . 
the majority 's assault on victims and consumers is unprecedented in its scope and stunning in its breadth . 
collectively , these measures will close the courthouse doors on millions of americans harmed by intentional wrongdoing , negligence , and fraud . 
and so , long after the 109th congress has forgotten , american consumers and workers will be paying the price for these special interest bills through needless injuries and uncompensated harm . 
this legislation will remove class actions involving state law issues from state courts , the forum most convenient for victims of wrongdoing and with the judges most familiar with the substantive law , and this legislation will move it to the federal courts where the case will take far longer to resolve and is far less likely to be certified . 
now , you do not need to take my word for it . 
let us just ask big business itself . 
the nation 's largest bank , citicorp admits `` the practical effect ( of the bill will ) be that many cases will never be heard . 
federal judges facing overburdened dockets and ambiguities about applying state laws in a federal court , often refuse to grant standing to class action plaintiffs. '' forbes magazine writes , `` the legislation will ... .. 
make it more difficult for plaintiffs to prevail , since ... .. 
federal courts are ... .. 
less open to considering ... .. 
class action claims. '' passage of this legislation would be particularly devastating for civil rights cases and labor law cases . 
as the lawyers committee for civil rights under the law explained , `` the consequences of the legislation for civil rights class actions ... .. 
will be astounding and , in our view , disastrous . 
redirecting state law class actions to the federal courts will choke federal court dockets and delay or foreclose the timely and effective determination of federal ( civil rights ) cases. '' since the november election we have heard a lot of talk about values , and that is fine ; but will someone during this discourse today tell me where the value is in denying senior citizens who suffered heart attacks because they took vioxx for their arthritis ? 
where is the morality in preventing poor workers from joining together to obtain compensation when unscrupulous employers pay them slave-labor wages ? 
where is the righteousness in telling victims of discrimination that they will have to wait years for a federal court to consider violations of their own state laws ? 
if we have learned anything from the enron , tyco , firestone , and other legal debacles , it is that our citizens need more protection against wrongdoers in our society , not less . 
and yet the class action bill before us takes us in precisely the opposite direction . 
the house should reject this one-sided , anti-consumer and anti-civil rights legislation . 
madam speaker , i reserve the balance of my time . 
