mr. speaker , the class action fairness act could not be more inappropriately named , and this motion to commit shows why . 
since 1999 , merck has spent over $ 100 million a year to advertise vioxx . 
more than 80 million people took vioxx , and the drug generated sales of $ 2.5 billion for merck . 
merck should take responsibility for the harm their products may cause . 
thousands , literally thousands of american families believe they lost a loved one or suffered personal harm because vioxx was unsafe . 
these families believe merck knew of the danger vioxx was causing , but allowed the drug to remain on the market anyway . 
maybe they are right . 
maybe they are not . 
but the point is that the so-called class action fairness act does not give them a fair chance to make their case before a jury of their peers . 
the class action fairness act makes it very difficult for those who feel they were harmed by drugs like vioxx from getting the justice they deserve . 
we should adopt this motion to commit and pass a class action fairness act worthy of the name . 
