mr. speaker , i rise in opposition to s. 5 , the class action fairness act .  despite its name , this bill is anything but fair to the class action device that has provided redress to large numbers of american citizens who have been harmed by the same defendant or a group of defendants .  class action procedures have made it possible for injured americans to aggregate small claims that might not otherwise warrant the expense of individual litigation .  this bill before us will effectively undermine the utility , practicality , and choice the class action mechanism has offered to injured persons with legitimate claims against powerful entities .  there appear to be improvements in this bill from the bill we considered last congress ; yet there could and should be more improvements .  but the trend thus far this session is to dispense with regular order , deny committee consideration , and to leave members with 1 to 2 minutes to hurriedly voice our concerns .  i can guarantee my colleagues , having practiced law for over 20 years , that the core provisions of this bill will invite prolonged satellite litigation into ill-defined or undefined terms in this bill , clogging the federal courts and denying prompt justice to worthy claimants .  for example , where `` significant relief '' is sought against a home state defendant , the court has no jurisdiction .  what is significant and what is not significant ?  also , and worse in my judgment , no longer will a coherent description of the class be sufficient before the trial on the merit proceeds .  under the bill the judge must first know with certainty the absolute number of the plaintiff class , because whether he may or must decline to hear the case depends on whether a `` magic '' number of plaintiffs are citizens of the state where the lawsuit was filed .  there are other examples too complicated to address here in the time that we have available .  but let me just say that juxtaposed against the smattering of cases paraded by the supporters of this bill as justification for this upheaval in our justice system are countless class action lawsuits by principled attorneys and courageous plaintiffs that have exposed deliberate wrongdoing , obtained justice for american citizens , and vindicated the values of fair play and equal justice that define our society .  america is distinguished from other countries because of its legal system both criminal and civil .  is it perfect ?  no .  but the majority wages countless legislative assaults on the entire system rather than confined , deliberative , surgical repairs .  under this bill , one bad judge , we condemn all of the judges in the system .  one excessive jury award , let us overhaul the entire jury system .  one irresponsible lawyer , let us punish all lawyers .  and here let us take these actions without any committee hearings , markup , or debate .  what could be more irresponsible to our constituents ?  whatever happened to the notion that we were making our court systems convenient to people ?  in some of our states , the federal courts are far removed from the places where individual litigants live .  and what is it with the notion all of a sudden that my states rights friends believe that the federal courts and the federal government can solve every problem in our society ?  that is just simply absurd , inconsistent with any kind of consistent philosophy about federalism .  