madam speaker , here we go again .  whenever the republican leadership appears to be floundering or simply needs some legislative filler , they turn to the judiciary committee for some kind of anti-lawyer , anti-lawsuit bill .  we recently considered a bill to ban lawsuits against people who want to sue fast food companies , even though these cases are nonexistent .  now we are here considering another bill that will pass the house and go nowhere in the senate .  the fact is that the republican leadership has run out of meaningful legislation to consider .  they have run out of ideas .  so here we are once again considering another bill that attacks america 's judicial system and takes away rights from our fellow citizens .  time after time , the republican leadership refuses to bring necessary legislation to the floor .  where , madam speaker , is the legislation combating poverty or ending hunger or increasing access to affordable and comprehensive health care ?  where are their priorities ?  there are 45 million americans who have no health insurance in this country .  where is the increase in the minimum wage ?  where is the legislation to lower gas and oil prices ?  it was comical to see the republican leadership gather at a press conference the other day in reaction to the news that oil companies are making record profits .  and what was their response ?  they very nicely asked the oil companies to do more .  why should the oil companies do more when they have passed legislation to give oil companies more tax breaks and more oil subsidies ?  where , madam speaker , is the oversight into the iraq war ?  over 2 , 000 americans have lost their lives in iraq , and all we get from this leadership and all we get from this white house is `` stay the course. '' well , stay the course is not a policy ; it is a sound bite .  we owe our young men and women more than just a sound bite .  where is the genuinely independent 9/11-style commission to investigate the botched response to hurricane katrina and to make recommendations on how to prevent such another tragedy in the future ?  where is the fully constituted , functioning ethics committee to look into the numerous ethics charges that are mounting in this body ?  no , here we are dealing with legislation that we dealt with last year that is going nowhere .  the fact is , the republican leadership does not care much about these issues , and i know they are out of step with the american people on these issues .  so , instead , they bring us the lawsuit abuse reduction act once again .  this is like watching a bad tv rerun .  it was not good the first time ; it is even worse the second time .  remember , we considered this bill last year , and just like last year , it will pass this republican-controlled congress .  they will do their press releases , they will send it over to the senate , and it will go nowhere .  later today we will hear from members of the house judiciary committee who have particular subject expertise on the specifics of this legislation .  i will leave it to these members to explain the intricacies of the federal code and the rules of civil procedure and how rule 11 fits in .  i would like for a few minutes , however , to talk about the continued abuse of power that the republican majority takes to a new level today .  under this rule and under this bill , republican fund-raisers are rewarded , while the majority party continues its unabashed assault on the judicial branch of this nation .  do not just take my word for it , madam speaker .  one of the broadest arrays of groups that i have ever seen has come together to oppose this misguided , short-sighted , mean-spirited legislation .  these groups include , but are certainly not limited to , the naacp , the legal defense fund , the american bar association , the national conference of state legislatures , the national women 's law center , and the consumers union .  the one that stands out the most , however , is the opposition from the judicial conference of the united states .  now , what is that ?  what is this conference that opposes what my republican friends will describe as a critically important piece of legislation ?  the judicial conference was created by this very congress in 1922 .  their congressionally mandated mission is to be the principal policymaking body concerned with the administration of the united states courts .  the presiding officer of this organization is none other than the chief justice of the supreme court .  you know what the judicial conference has to say about this legislation ?  in a three-page letter to chairman sensenbrenner , in short , they say it is unnecessary and it is harmful .  if they were less judicious in their choice of words , they would say what i say : it stinks .  but what they say , madam speaker , this group representing the federal judges of this country , is that this legislation is fatally flawed .  they say that rule 11 of the federal rules of civil procedure , what the underlying legislation aims to fix , is working better today than ever before .  in fact , in their letter to the judiciary committee chairman , they say that federal district judges are united in their opposition to any legislation which seeks to amend rule 11 .  they specifically urge congress to reject this legislation .  now , madam speaker , let us think this through for just a second , shall we ?  the organization representing president-appointed , senate-confirmed judges thinks this legislation is unwise .  why do we think we know better than our federal judges how to operate the federal judiciary ?  frankly , i would laugh if i did not think that the majority was so sincere in their attempts to undermine the constitutional rights of every single american .  shame on you .  shame on all of you for trying to eviscerate the constitution , all for a few extra campaign dollars , because that is what this is about .  the underlying legislation is not sound public policy , plain and simple .  on the contrary , it is outright political grandstanding .  so let us be honest and let us call this bill and this debate what they really are : legislative abuse and a political charade .  the majority 's reckless disregard for judicial integrity mocks our constitution 's separation of powers doctrine , and i implore my colleagues to reject this rule and the underlying legislation .  madam speaker , i reserve the balance of my time .  