mr. speaker , i thank the chairman of the committee on the judiciary for yielding me time . 
mr. speaker , all americans should thank the gentleman from virginia ( mr. goodlatte ) xz4001540 and the gentleman from wisconsin ( chairman sensenbrenner ) for their leadership on this most important issue . 
the class action fairness act is a bipartisan , sensible bill that clarifies the rights of consumers and restores confidence in america 's judicial system . 
it reforms the class action system and addresses the abuses that harm so many americans . 
we have all heard of the lawsuits in which plaintiffs walk away with pennies , sometimes literally , while the attorneys walk away with millions of dollars in fees . 
this problem will be addressed by providing greater scrutiny over settlements that involve coupons or very small cash amounts . 
this legislation also ensures that deserving plaintiffs are able to make full use of the class action system . 
it allows easier removal of class action cases to federal courts . 
this is important because class actions tend to affect numerous americans and often involve millions of dollars . 
federal court is the right place for such large lawsuits . 
moving more class actions to federal courts also prevents one of the worst problems in class actions today , forum shopping . 
mr. speaker , while many concessions were made on both sides , this is still a very worthwhile bill that contains many good reforms , and i fully support it and look forward to its enactment into law and also encourage my colleagues to support it as well . 
