S834 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE February 2, 2005 29 other States it has already reached a rate of increase, which outpaces the Since our country’s founding, the crisis point. Seventy percent of doctors growth of our GDP, gross domestic tort system often has been a force of who have practiced in Tennessee for product, it is estimated that per capita justice and positive change, but today more than 10 years have had a claim cost will go above $1,000 by 2006. That that justice is being junked by trial at- filed against them. Does that mean means for a family of 4, there is a tort torneys looking for these multimillion- that 7 out of 10 doctors in one State are tax of about $4,000. dollar windfalls, and that is what we conducting malpractice, bad health The tort system accounts for about need to address. We will take action to care? No, of course not. 2.23 percent of our GDP. That is equal end the abuse in these lawsuits on the If one looks at the studies of obstet- to the entire economy of the State of floor of the Senate. It will be done for rics, OB/GYN, 92 percent have had a Washington or more than that of the the sake of true victims who deserve claim against them. That is 9 out of State of Tennessee, my own State. fair compensation, for the prosperity every 10 doctors who have been deliv- Where does all that money go? Unfor- and health of our people, and for the ering babies for more than 10 years. tunately, less than half of it gets to the integrity of our Government. For cardiac surgeons, heart surgeons, victims, the people who have been vic- I yield the floor. not a higher risk but in some ways a timized and hurt. They need to be fully f compensated. We all agree with that. higher risk field, one of the more com- EXECUTIVE SESSION mon operations done across the coun- The problem is, less than half of the try today is cardiac surgery—92 per- money goes to the victims, which is cent out of the physicians, 9 out of 10 the purpose of the tort system, and the NOMINATION OF ALBERTO R. physicians who have practiced more other half of it goes to administrative GONZALES TO BE ATTORNEY than 10 years, have had a suit filed costs and, of course, to the trial law- GENERAL yers, the personal injury lawyers. against them. The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under Average malpractice insurance pre- There are lots of different examples. Take the case of the Coca-Cola apple the previous order, the Senate will re- miums have increased, so it is a prob- sume executive session for the consid- lem, but it is a problem that is getting juice dispute. It is really on the apple juice end of this, that the plaintiffs’ eration of Executive Calendar No. 8, worse. Look over the last 5 years; these which the clerk will report. lawyers charged that the drink com- premiums have increased by 84 percent. The bill clerk read the nomination of pany was improperly adding sweeteners The premiums go up because when the Alberto R. Gonzales, of Texas, to be At- frivolous lawsuits increase, it creates a to its apple juice. So as compensation, torney General. heavier burden and that is passed on, of the attorneys managed to secure a 50- The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under cent coupon for each of the apple juice course, to physicians. In Tennessee, the previous order, the time until 4:30 victims while at the same time the OB/GYNs can expect to pay $60,000 a p.m. shall be equally divided for debate lawyers walked away with $1.5 million year in insurance premiums; heart sur- between the Senator from Pennsyl- for themselves. vania, Mr. SPECTER, and the Senator geons, about $55,000; and general sur- The system is out of balance. We will from Vermont, Mr. LEAHY, or their des- geons, $40,000. All of that is high. That bring it back into balance. Small busi- is just to pay for the insurance. Re- ignees. nesses get dragged into this irrational The Senator from Texas is recog- member, Tennessee is not yet a crisis tort system. There is example after ex- State. If a doctor is in Pennsylvania, nized. ample that we all have. The system Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, the Ohio, or down in Florida, they are pay- clearly needs to be reformed. Cherry- ing two to three times that. Some neu- division basically is going to be from picking favorable counties to land bil- 9:30 we will have Republican speakers rosurgeons, trauma surgeons, are hav- lion-dollar settlements undermines the and from 10:30 to 11:30 there will be ing to pay insurance of $300,000, some core principles of our legal system. Democratic speakers and then we will even $400,000, a year for the privilege of Those principles are fairness and eq- be going back and forth. taking care of people in the event there uity. These are the sorts of issues that I am pleased to be able to open to- is an accident. the Judiciary Committee will be ad- day’s discussion on the nomination of Dr. Martin Olsen, chair of OB/GYN dressing tomorrow in committee and my friend, Alberto Gonzales. I am division at East Tennessee State Uni- that we will be addressing on the floor pleased because I know Alberto versity, reports that their clinic in the of the Senate next week. Gonzales personally and have been able rural town of Mountain City, TN, had As our distinguished colleague from to work with him both during the time to shut down because of unaffordable New York, Senator SCHUMER, has ex- he was a distinguished supreme court insurance costs. Cocke County mean- plained on the Senate floor, too many justice in my home State of Texas, and while has lost 7 of its 12 doctors who lawsuits are filed in local courts that as White House Counsel. deliver babies. have no connection to the plaintiff, the As the senior Senator from Texas and The problem is not limited to Ten- defendant, or the conduct at issue. If formerly the junior Senator from nessee. It is not even limited to the the case affects the Nation as a whole, Texas, I have had a lot of commerce practice of medicine. I use that as an it should be heard in a Federal court. with Alberto Gonzales. I can tell the example because the impact these liti- We have other areas of litigation American public without reservation: gations costs and frivolous lawsuits that need to be addressed and hopefully He is honest. He is a straight shooter. have on medicine and health care is so will be addressed in the near future. He has told me some things I didn’t dramatic to me as a physician, as I Asbestos litigation has bankrupted 70 want to hear on more than one occa- look at my physician colleagues. companies; 18 companies have been sion. But I was absolutely assured that Across the country, American busi- bankrupted in the last 24 months. It he was doing what he said he was going nesses, doctors, plaintiffs, court sys- means job losses—60,000 jobs have been to do and that he had reasons for what tems, and taxpayers, are all being vic- lost, with billions of dollars taken out he did. timized by frivolous litigation, by out- of our economy without the patients or On the other hand, I have been able of-control litigation. Now is the time individuals with cancer being ade- to persuade him on issues where our to change that. That opportunity is be- quately compensated in a timely way. views differed, because he listened. He fore us. So squeeze the waste and abuse and in is not rigid and impenetrable, as some In 2003, the tort system cost about some cases the fraud out of the sys- people have described him. Again, he is $250 billion overall. Much of that, tem—that is our goal—and return these a person who listens, who is thought- maybe half of that—I do not even know systems back into systems of integrity. ful, who is a straight shooter, and what the figure is—is obviously well I am very excited about where we are someone for whom I have the utmost spent. What we want to do is squeeze going in terms of addressing the tort respect. the waste, the frivolous lawsuits, out issues in a balanced, bipartisan way. I am proud to be able to start the of the system. That figure of $250 bil- We will justly compensate those who floor debate today on Alberto Gonzales, lion means of an unnecessary tax of have been injured by careless or reck- who was nominated and is to be con- about $850 for every man, woman, and less actions, and we want to hold those firmed as Attorney General of the child. So it is bad now. At the current who commit these actions to account. United States. VerDate Aug 04 2004 02:03 Feb 03, 2005 Jkt 039060 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G02FE6.003 S02PT1 February 2, 2005 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S835 Alberto Gonzales is the American ough research, would not shoot from represent only the White House, he will story. He is the American dream. He is the hip.