madam speaker , i yield myself such time as i may consume . 
madam speaker , i rise in strong support of s. 5 , the class action fairness act of 2005 . 
today marks the culmination of nearly a decade of legislative efforts to end systematic abuse of our nation 's class action system . 
we stand on the cusp of sending landmark legislation on civil-justice reform to the president that has been approved by increasing majorities each time it has been considered by the house in each of the last three congresses and which passed the other body last week with an overwhelming majority of 72 votes . 
since these reforms were first proposed , the magnitude of the class action crisis , the need to address it has become more and more urgent . 
the crisis now threatens the integrity of our civil justice system and undermines the economic vitality upon which job creation depends . 
a major element of the worsening crisis is the exponential increase in state class action cases in a handful of `` magnet '' or `` magic '' jurisdictions , many of which deal with national issues in classes . 
in the last 10 years , state court class actions filings nationwide have increased over 1 , 315 percent . 
the infamous handful of magnet courts known for certifying even the most speculative class action suits , the increase in filings now exceeds 5 , 000 percent . 
the only explanation for this phenomenon is aggressive forum shopping by trial lawyers to find courts and judges who will act as willing accomplices in a judicial power grab , hearing nationwide cases and setting policy for the entire country . 
a second major feature of the present class action crisis is a system producing outrageous settlements that benefit only lawyers and trample the rights of class members . 
class actions were originally created to efficiently address a large number of similar claims by people suffering small harms . 
today they are too often used to efficiently transfer the large fees to a small number of trial lawyers , with little benefit to the plaintiffs . 
the present rules encourage a race to any available state courthouse in the hopes of a rubber-stamped nationwide settlement that produces millions in attorney 's fees for the winning plaintiff 's attorney . 
the race to settle produces outcomes that favor expediency and profits for lawyers over justice and fairness for consumers . 
the losers in this race are the victims who often gain little or nothing through the settlement , yet are bound by it in perpetuity . 
and all americans bear the cost of these settlements through increased prices for goods and services . 
the bill before the house today offers commonsense procedural changes that will end the most serious abuses by allowing more interstate class actions to be heard in federal courts while keeping truly local cases in state courts . 
its core provisions are similar to those passed by this body in the last three congresses . 
s. 5 also implements a consumer bill of rights that will keep class members from being used by the lawyers they never hired to engage in litigation they do not know about or to extort money they will never see . 
madam speaker , when the house considered this important reform in the last congress , i remarked that , `` the class action judicial system has become a joke , and no one is laughing except the trial lawyers ... .. 
all the way to the bank. '' i imagine that laughter turned to nervous chuckles when s. 5 emerged unscathed from the gauntlet in the other body with 72 votes last week . 
today , as the house prepares to pass this bill , i suspect you could hear a pin drop in the halls of infamous courthouses located in madison county , illinois and jefferson county , texas , where for so long the good times have rolled for forum-shopping plaintiffs ' attorneys and the judges who enable them . 
and when this legislation is signed by the president one day soon , those same halls may echo with sobs and curses because this time justice and fairness and the american people will have the last laugh . 
madam speaker , after years of toil , the moment has arrived . 
the opportunity to restore common sense , rationality , and dignity to our class action system is now before us , and the need for reform has never been more certain . 
i urge my colleagues to support the class action fairness act of 2005 . 
madam speaker , i reserve the balance of my time . 
