mr. speaker , i rise today in strong opposition to the so-called `` class action fairness act. '' i have strong objections to not only to the text of the bill itself but also to the very process by which it was strong-armed by the republican leadership past the judiciary committee .  this process did not allow any opportunity for committee members to raise our objections or to work constructively to fix the major problems in this legislation .  this circumvention of regular order is being sold to us with a myriad of excuses , one of them is that the bill is a simple procedural fix for a judicial crisis with nothing controversial in it .  nothing could be further from the truth .  this bill is a federal mandate to undermine and all but kill the ability to raise class actions cases in state courts .  under this so-called `` procedural bill , '' almost every class action lawsuit would be removed from state jurisdiction and forced onto an already overburdened federal judiciary .  moving these cases to federal court will make litigation more costly , more time-consuming and less likely that victims can get their rightful day in court at all .  this bill is so preposterously far-reaching it would prevent state courts from considering class action cases that only involve state laws .  we have already added so many state cases to federal jurisdiction that if this bill passes victims will be added to the substantial backlog of federal cases and will likely find it difficult to ever have their cases heard .  it should be obvious to even the most casual observer that the intent of this bill is to prevent class action lawsuits from ever being heard .  members should make no mistake about it -- if we pass this misguided legislation , we will have effectively shut the door on civil rights , on workers rights and on anyone injured through corporate negligence .  mr. speaker , i urge my colleagues to join me in opposing one of the most destructive and far reaching civil justice measures ever considered by this body .  