mr. speaker , i thank the gentleman from georgia for yielding me this time . 
mr. speaker , i rise today in strong support of both the rule and the underlying class-action reform legislation . 
mr. speaker , the bottom line is that class-action reform is badly needed . 
currently , certain crafty lawyers are able to game the system by filing large , nationwide class-action suits in certain preferred state courts such as madison county , illinois , where judges are quick to certify classes and quick to approve settlements that give millions of dollars to attorneys and only worthless coupons to their clients . 
looking at this chart , for example , we can see the history of madison county , illinois , which has been called the number one judicial hellhole in the united states . 
there were 77 class-action filings in 2002 , and 106 class-action lawsuits filed in 2003 . 
now , the movie bridges of madison county was a love story . 
`` the judges of madison county '' would be a horror flick . 
unfortunately , all too often , it is the lawyers who drive these class-action suits and not the individuals who allegedly have been injured . 
for example , in a suit against blockbuster over late fees , the attorneys received $ 9.25 million ; their clients got a $ 1 off coupon for their next video rental . 
similarly , in a lawsuit against the company that makes cheerios , the attorneys received $ 2 million for themselves , while their clients received a coupon for a free box of cheerios . 
in a nutshell , these out-of-control class-action lawsuits are killing jobs , they are hurting small business people who can not afford to defend themselves , and they are hurting consumers who have to pay a higher price for goods and services . 
fortunately , this legislation provides much-needed reform in 2 key areas . 
first , it eliminates much of the forum shopping by requiring that most of the nationwide class-action suits be filed in federal court . 
second , it cracks down on these coupon-based class-action settlements by requiring that attorney fee awards be based on either the value of the coupons actually redeemed , or by the hours actually billed by the attorney prosecuting the case . 
mr. speaker , this legislation will and should comfortably pass the house of representatives . 
last week , this exact bill received 72 votes in the u.s. senate , and last year we passed a similar bill with 253 votes . 
i urge my colleagues to vote yes on the bill and vote yes on the rule . 
