Issue Position: Justice and Crime - Tort Reform

Issue Position

A tort is a civil wrong, other than a breach of contract that causes injury for which the victim may sue to recover damages. Torts include negligent acts, such as medical malpractice, and acts, such as selling defective products, for which one can be held strictly liable - even in the absence of negligence. Tort law at present is almost exclusively state law rather than federal law, though Congress has occasionally enacted tort reform statutes.

The current tort system in our country is by all accounts a disaster. Our nation's court system has become more of a way to unjustly transfer wealth than a method of effectively compensating those harmed by the negligence or wrongdoing of others.

I have always been an advocate of tort reform and am pleased to note that President George W. Bush advocated tort reform in his 2003 State of the Union Address. Should any legislation be considered in the House that will reduce the amount of frivolous lawsuits currently jamming our nation's court systems, I intend to offer my full support.

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