Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal Act of 2022

Floor Speech

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Mr. TIFFANY. Happy St. Patrick's Day, Madam Speaker. I just want to gently correct my colleague from North Carolina when he cited 8 percent inflation. On an annualized basis, we are seeing it being measured at 10 percent here. I can understand the Representative from Tennessee's sensitivity toward Bidenflation.

Today, we are here because the Democrats want to pass legislation that insults the intelligence of Americans. According to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, the only people sophisticated enough to enter into arbitration agreements are unions, so they have exempted them from this bill. Convenient.

This legislation prohibits predispute arbitration agreements, which are a fair, efficient, and effective way for consumers, workers, and businesses to settle disputes without costly and time-consuming litigation that mainly benefits the trial bar. This bill will also deprive Americans of an effective legal option, while costing them more time and money.

Predispute arbitration agreements exist in many employment and consumer contracts today and are enforced like any other kind of contract. Arbitration is generally fair, often leads to better outcomes for workers, and does not keep claimants from simultaneously alerting the world to bad actors. Those agreements create a win-win situation for parties to contract in advance on a process for resolving future disputes.

Courts, accordingly, uphold and enforce lawful agreements to arbitrate when disputes arise between parties, an approach consistent with the fundamental principle that arbitration is a matter of contract. This policy of individuals being free to contract has arguably long been a feature of American law. Existing law also permits courts to invalidate agreements under generally applicable contract defenses, such as fraud or duress.

Some will argue that arbitration requires confidentiality. This is not true. The parties to the agreement always have a right to disclose details of the proceeding unless they have a separate confidentiality agreement. Nor does current law typically preclude a party from disclosing information obtained in the arbitration process or any resulting award. Arbitration is usually less expensive and faster than litigation.

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Mr. TIFFANY. It normally minimizes hostility, is less disruptive of ongoing and future business dealings, and is often more flexible. This legislation does not favor the American consumer. The only ones favored are the unions and the trial bar. This is not right for Americans, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this un-fair act.

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