HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

363

1995 T41.28

judgment or by amendment of the judgment

after entry. An award of damages for noneconomic losses in excess of $250,000 shall be

reduced to $250,000 before accounting for any

other reduction in damages required by law.

If separate awards of damages for past and

future noneconomic damages are rendered

and the combined award exceeds $250,000, the

award of damages for future noneconomic

losses shall be reduced first.

(b) APPLICABILITY.—Except as provided in

section 401, this section shall apply to any

health care liability action brought in any

Federal or State court on any theory or pursuant to any alternative dispute resolution

process where noneconomic damages are

sought. This section does not create a cause

of action for noneconomic damages. This

section does not preempt or supersede any

State or Federal law to the extent that such

law would further limit the award of noneconomic damages. This section does not

preempt any State law enacted before the

date of the enactment of this Act that places

a cap on the total liability in a health care

liability action.

(d) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section—

(a) The term ‘‘claimant’’ means any person

who asserts a health care liability claim or

brings a health care liability action, including a person who asserts or claims a right to

legal or equitable contribution, indemnity or

subrogation, arising out of a health care liability claim or action, and any person on

whose behalf such a claim is asserted or such

an action is brought, whether deceased, incompetent or a minor.

(b) The term ‘‘economic loss’’ has the same

meaning as defined at section 203(3).

(c) The term ‘‘health care liability action’’

means a civil action brought in a State or

Federal court or pursuant to any alternative

dispute resolution process, against a health

care provider, and entity which is obligated

to provide or pay for health benefits under

any health plan (including any person or entity acting under a contract or arrangement

to provide or administer any health benefit),

or the manufacturer, distributor, supplier,

marketer, promoter, or seller of a medical

product, in which the claimant alleges a

claim (including third party claims, cross

claims, counter claims, or distribution

claims) based upon the provision of (or the

failure to provide or pay for) health care

services or the use of a medical product, regardless of the theory of liability on which

the claim is based, or the number of plaintiffs, or defendants or causes of action.

Page 17, line 10, insert ‘‘and other’’ after

‘‘punitive’’.

It was decided in the Yeas ....... 247 ! affirmative ................... Nays ...... 171

T41.27 [Roll No. 226]

AYES—247

Allard

Archer

Armey

Bachus

Baker (CA)

Baker (LA)

Baldacci

Ballenger

Barcia

Barr

Barrett (NE)

Bartlett

Barton

Bass

Bateman

Bereuter

Bevill

Bilbray

Bilirakis

Bliley

Blute

Boehlert

Boehner

Bonilla

Bono

Brewster

Browder

Brownback

Bryant (TN)

Bunn

Bunning

Burr

Burton

Buyer

Callahan

Calvert

Camp

Canady

Cardin

Castle

Chabot

Chambliss

Chapman

Chenoweth

Christensen

Chrysler

Coburn

Collins (GA)

Combest

Condit

Cooley

Cox

Cramer

Crane

Crapo

Cremeans

Cunningham

Davis

DeLay

Dooley

Doolittle

Dornan

Dreier

Duncan

Dunn

Ehlers

Ehrlich

Emerson

English

Ensign

Eshoo

Everett

Ewing

Fawell

Fazio

Fields (TX)

Foley

Fowler

Fox

Franks (CT)

Franks (NJ)

Frisa

Funderburk

Gallegly

Ganske

Gekas

Geren

Goodlatte

Goodling

Gordon

Goss

Greenwood

Gunderson

Gutknecht

Hall (TX)

Hamilton

Hancock

Hansen

Harman

Hastert

Hastings (WA)

Hayes

Hayworth

Hefley

Heineman

Herger

Hilleary

Hobson

Hoekstra

Hoke

Holden

Horn

Hostettler

Houghton

Hunter

Hutchinson

Hyde

Inglis

Johnson (SD)

Johnson, Sam

Jones

Kasich

Kelly

Kim

Kingston

Klug

Knollenberg

Kolbe

LaHood

Largent

Latham

Laughlin

Lazio

Leach

Lewis (CA)

Lewis (KY)

Lightfoot

Linder

Livingston

Longley

Lucas

Manzullo

McCollum

McCrery

McHale

McHugh

McInnis

McIntosh

McKeon

McNulty

Metcalf

Meyers

Mica

Miller (FL)

Minge

Molinari

Montgomery

Moorhead

Moran

Morella

Myers

Myrick

Neumann

Ney

Norwood

Nussle

Oxley

Packard

Pallone

Parker

Paxon

Payne (VA)

Peterson (FL)

Peterson (MN)

Petri

Pickett

Pombo

Porter

Portman

Poshard

Quillen

Quinn

Radanovich

Ramstad

Regula

Richardson

Riggs

Roberts

Roemer

Rogers

Rohrabacher

Ros-Lehtinen

Roth

Roukema

Royce

Salmon

Sanford

Saxton

Scarborough

Schaefer

Seastrand

Sensenbrenner

Shaw

Shays

Shuster

Sisisky

Skeen

Skelton

Smith (MI)

Smith (NJ)

Smith (TX)

Smith (WA)

Solomon

Souder

Spence

Stearns

Stenholm

Stockman

Stump

Talent

Tanner

Tate

Tauzin

Taylor (MS)

Taylor (NC)

Thomas

Thornberry

Tiahrt

Torkildsen

Torricelli

Traficant

Upton

Volkmer

Vucanovich

Waldholtz

Walker

Wamp

Watts (OK)

Weldon (FL)

White

Whitfield

Wicker

Wolf

Young (AK)

Young (FL)

Zeliff

Zimmer

NOES—171

Abercrombie

Ackerman

Andrews

Baesler

Barrett (WI)

Becerra

Beilenson

Bentsen

Berman

Bishop

Bonior

Borski

Brown (CA)

Brown (FL)

Brown (OH)

Bryant (TX)

Clay

Clayton

Clement

Clyburn

Coble

Coleman

Collins (IL)

Collins (MI)

Conyers

Costello

Coyne

Danner

de la Garza

Deal

DeLauro

Dellums

Deutsch

Diaz-Balart

Dickey

Dicks

Dingell

Dixon

Doggett

Doyle

Durbin

Edwards

Engel

Evans

Farr

Fattah

Fields (LA)

Filner

Flake

Flanagan

Foglietta

Ford

Frank (MA)

Frelinghuysen

Frost

Furse

Gejdenson

Gephardt

Gilchrest

Gillmor

Gilman

Gonzalez

Graham

Green

Gutierrez

Hastings (FL)

Hefner

Hilliard

Hinchey

Hoyer

Istook

Jackson-Lee

Jacobs

Johnson, E. B.

Johnston

Kanjorski

Kaptur

Kennedy (MA)

Kennedy (RI)

Kennelly

Kildee

King

Kleczka

Klink

LaFalce

Lantos

LaTourette

Levin

Lewis (GA)

Lincoln

Lipinski

LoBiondo

Lofgren

Lowey

Luther

Maloney

Manton

Markey

Martini

Mascara

Matsui

McCarthy

McDade

McDermott

McKinney

Meehan

Meek

Menendez

Mfume

Miller (CA)

Mineta

Mink

Moakley

Mollohan

Nadler

Neal

Nethercutt

Oberstar

Obey

Olver

Ortiz

Orton

Pastor

Payne (NJ)

Pelosi

Pomeroy

Pryce

Rahall

Reed

Reynolds

Rivers

Rose

Roybal-Allard

Rush

Sabo

Sanders

Sawyer

Schiff

Schroeder

Schumer

Scott

Serrano

Shadegg

Skaggs

Slaughter

Spratt

Stark

Stokes

Studds

Stupak

Tejeda

Thompson

Thornton

Thurman

Torres

Towns

Tucker

Velazquez

Vento

Visclosky

Walsh

Ward

Waters

Watt (NC)

Waxman

Weldon (PA)

Wilson

Wise

Woolsey

Wyden

Wynn

NOT VOTING—16

Boucher

Clinger

Cubin

DeFazio

Forbes

Gibbons

Hall (OH)

Jefferson

Johnson (CT)

Martinez

Murtha

Owens

Rangel

Weller

Williams

Yates

So the amendment was agreed to.

The SPEAKER pro tempore, Mr.

LONGLEY, assumed the Chair.

When Mr. DREIER, Chairman, reported that the Committee, having had

under consideration said bill, had come

to no resolution thereon.

T41.28 MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT—

ECONOMIC EMERGENCY IN MEXICO

The SPEAKER pro tempore, Mr.

LONGLEY, laid before the House a

message from the President, which was

read as follows:

To the Congress of the United States:

On January 31, 1995, I determined

pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 5302(b) that the

economic crisis in Mexico posed

‘‘unique and emergency circumstances’’ that justified the use of

the Exchange Stabilization Fund (ESF)

to provide loans and credits with maturities of greater than 6 months to the

Government of Mexico and the Bank of

Mexico. Consistent with the requirements of 31 U.S.C. 5302(b), I am hereby

notifying the Congress of that determination. The congressional leadership

issued a joint statement with me on

January 31, 1995, in which we all agreed

that such use of the ESF was a necessary and appropriate response to the

Mexican financial crisis and in the

United States’ vital national interest.

On February 21, 1995, the Secretary of

the Treasury and the Mexican Secretary of Finance and Public Credit

signed four agreements that provide

the framework and specific legal arrangements under which up to $20 billion in support will be made available

from the ESF to the Government of

Mexico and the Bank of Mexico. Under

these agreements, the United States

will provide three forms of support to

Mexico: short-term swaps through

which Mexico borrows dollars for 90

days and that can be rolled over for up

to 1 year; medium-term swaps through

which Mexico can borrow dollars for up

to 5 years; and securities guarantees

having maturities of up to 10 years.

Repayment of these loans and guarantees is backed by revenues from the

export of crude oil and petroleum products formalized in an agreement signed

by the United States, the Government

of Mexico, and the Mexican govern-