mr. speaker , i rise in opposition to s. 5 .  the sponsors of this bill call it the class action fairness act , but nothing about this bill is fair , especially for the victims of corporate wrongdoing .  this bill erects a nearly insurmountable barrier for everyday americans , who have been hurt or wronged , to have their day in court .  thanks to the so-called class action fairness act , people who have had their civil rights trampled on will no longer be able to bring their claims to state court .  it does not matter if the laws of their home state provide better civil rights protections or that it may be more convenient for the victims of discrimination to seek justice in a court where they live .  with s. 5 they must go to federal court .  the same burden is put on the backs of hourly wage workers who sue for back pay that they are owed .  these folks are struggling to put food on their family 's table , and they almost certainly can not afford the high cost of multistate litigation .  with s. 5 they , too , must bring their claims to a federal court that may not even be in their state just so that they can get the back pay that they do .  i ask all the proponents of this bill , is that their idea of fairness ?  let us be real .  s. 5 is not about reducing venue shopping .  it is not about the mythical scourge of predatory plaintiffs ' lawyers , and it is not about the fabricated economic drain of excessive jury awards .  what this bill really is about is doing a favor for unscrupulous , negligent corporations by making it harder for their victims to sue them .  it is protecting big businesses who are guilty of wrongdoing from liability .  i am a lawyer and i acknowledge that there are some members of my profession who file frivolous suits .  but if the lawyers are the ones that they claim are ruining this legal system , why are the sponsors of this bill making it harder for the victims ?  this bill makes about as much sense as locking the door of a hospital in order to lower health care costs .  kicking people out of the system does not solve the problem , and that is exactly what s. 5 does .  it penalizes the victims of wrongdoing without doing anything to improve our legal system , and it shields bad actors from having to face the consequences of their action .  where is the personal responsibility ?  that is why i oppose this bill .  i urge all of my colleagues to vote `` no '' on the final passage and to vote `` yes '' on the conyers substitute .  