mr. chairman , i yield myself such time as i may consume .  mr. chairman , the scourge of frivolous litigation mars the fabric of our legal system and undermines the vitality of our economy .  as president bush has stated , `` we have a responsibility to confront frivolous litigation head on. '' h.r. 420 would do exactly that .  frivolous lawsuits have become a form of legalized extortion .  without the serious threat of certain punishment for filing frivolous claims , innocent people and small businesses will continue to confront the stark economic reality that simply paying off frivolous claims through monetary settlements is always cheaper than litigating the case until no fault is found .  frivolous lawsuits subvert the proper role of the tort system and affront fundamental notions of fairness that are central to our system of justice .  the effects of frivolous litigation are both clear and widespread .  churches are discouraging counseling by ministers .  children have learned to threaten teachers with lawsuits .  youth sports are shutting down in the face of lawsuits for injuries and even hurt feelings .  common playground equipment is now an endangered species .  the girl scouts in the metro detroit area alone have to sell 36 , 000 boxes of cookies each year just to pay for their liability insurance .  good samaritans are discouraged .  when one man routinely cleared a trail after snowstorms , the county had to ask him to stop .  the supervisor of district operations wrote , `` if a person falls , you are more liable than if you had never plowed at all. '' unfortunately , the times we are in allow for a much more litigious environment than common sense would dictate .  a federal lawsuit has even been filed against u.s. weather forecasters after the south asian tsunami disaster .  today results of frivolous lawsuits are written on all manner of product warnings that aim to prevent obvious misuse .  a warning label on a baby stroller cautions , `` remove child before folding. '' a five-inch brass fishing lure with three hooks is labeled , `` harmful if swallowed. '' and household irons warn , `` never iron clothes while they are being worn. '' small businesses and workers suffer the most .  the nation 's oldest ladder manufacturer , family-owned john s. tilley ladders company near albany , new york , recently filed for bankruptcy protection and sold off most of its assets due to litigation costs .  founded in 1855 , the tilley firm could not handle the cost of liability insurance , which had risen from 6 percent of sales a decade ago to 29 percent , while never losing an actual court judgment .  the workers of john s. tilley ladders never faced a competitor they could not beat in the marketplace , but they were no match for frivolous lawsuits .  when business week published an extensive article on what the most effective legal reforms would be , it stated that what is needed are `` penalties that sting. '' as business week recommends , `` give judges stronger tools to punish renegade lawyers. '' before 1993 , it was mandatory for judges to impose sanctions such as public censures , fines , or orders to pay for the other side 's legal expenses .  then the civil rules advisory committee , an obscure branch of the courts , made penalties optional .  this needs to be reversed by congress .  today , h.r. 420 would do exactly that .  rule 11 of the federal rules of civil procedure presently does not require sanctions against parties who bring frivolous lawsuits .  without certain punishment for those who bring these suits and the threat of serious monetary penalties to compensate the victims of frivolous lawsuits , there is little incentive for lawsuit victims to spend time and money seeking sanctions for lawsuit abuse .  in fact , as currently written , rule 11 allows lawyers to entirely avoid sanctions for filing frivolous claims by withdrawing them within 3 weeks .  such a rule actually encourages frivolous claims because personal injury attorneys can file harassing pleadings secure in the knowledge that they have nothing to lose .  if someone objects , they can always retreat without penalty .  h.r. 420 would restore mandatory sanctions and monetary penalties under federal rule 11 for filing frivolous lawsuits and abusing the litigation process .  it would also extend these same protections to cover state cases that a state judge determines have interstate implications and close the loopholes of a tort system that often resembles a tort lottery .  the legislation applies to frivolous lawsuits brought by businesses as well as individuals , and it expressly precludes application of the bill to civil rights cases if applying the bill to such cases would bar or impede the assertion or development of new claims or remedies under federal , state , or local civil rights law .  the class action fairness act , which was recently signed into law after receiving broad support in both houses , prohibits the unfair practice of forum shopping for favorable courts when the case is styled as a class action .  the same policy should apply to individual lawsuits as well .  one of the nation 's wealthiest personal injury attorneys , richard `` dickie '' scruggs , and i quoted him at length a while ago , but i will quote him a little bit shorter right now , described what he calls `` magic jurisdictions '' as `` what i call the `magic jurisdictions ' is where it is almost impossible to get a fair trial if you are a defendant .  any lawyer fresh out of law school can walk in there and win the case , so it does not matter what the evidence or the law is. '' america 's system of justice deserves better , much better .  h.r. 420 prevents the unfair practice of forum shopping by requiring that personal injury cases be brought only where there is some reasonable connection to the case ; namely , where the plaintiff lives or was allegedly injured , where the defendant 's principal place of business is located , or where the defendant resides .  the time for congressional action to close the loopholes that create incentives for frivolous lawsuits is now .  too many jobs have been lost and more will not be created if this legislation is not enacted into law .  i urge my colleagues to return a measure of fairness to america 's legal system by passing the lawsuit abuse reduction act .  