mr. speaker , for the purpose of debate only , i yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from massachusetts ( mr. mcgovern ) xz4002630 , pending which i yield myself such time as i may consume . 
during consideration of this resolution , all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only . 
mr. speaker , house resolution 96 is a structured rule providing 90 minutes of debate for consideration of s. 5 , the class action fairness act of 2005 . 
the rule waives all points of order against consideration of the bill , makes in order one amendment in the nature of a substitute , it waives all points of order against this amendment , and it provides one motion to recommit with or without instructions . 
mr. speaker , i urge support for the rule because we have before us a fair rule . 
i could say an excellent rule . 
the previous gentleman from massachusetts was rating these rules . 
but this is fair in both senses of that term , a fair rule that gives members on both sides of the aisle a chance to discuss their ideas on class action reform . 
i believe there is a general consensus that our system for class action litigation is flawed . 
as demonstrated by the other body , there is bipartisan support for the measure that will be coming before us . 
in fact , the other body passed this measure by a vote of 72 to 26 with strong bipartisan support . 
even with that bipartisan support , however , there are differences of opinion on how to reform our class action system . 
this bill through granting consideration of a substitute amendment will allow us to openly discuss these opinions and ideas . 
mr. speaker , our general tort system costs american businesses $ 129 billion each and every year . 
even our smallest companies pay collectively about $ 33 billion a year , or 26 percent of the overall tort costs to businesses borne by our smallest companies . 
class action reform is a first step in litigation reform aimed at providing relief for these small businesses . 
i am pleased that we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel . 
this chamber has passed class action litigation reform on four previous occasions . 
it is about time that we sent a reform package to the president 's desk for his signature . 
the underlying bill will make several key reforms including expanding federal jurisdiction over large interstate class actions as originally intended by our founding fathers , create exceptions that keep truly local disputes in state courts , provide an end to the harassment of local businesses as part of this forum shopping game , and create a consumer class action bill of rights . 
mr. speaker , i would like to again urge my colleagues to support this rule which passed out of the committee on rules without objection and to vote in favor of the underlying bill which will provide this much needed reform . 
mr. speaker , i reserve the balance of my time . 
