May 9, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6365

against the claimant by the claimant’s

coemployees or for acts committed by

coemployees outside the scope of normal

work practices.

(4) If the verdict shall be that the claimant’s harm was not caused by the fault of the

claimant’s employer or coemployees, then

the manufacturer or product seller shall reimburse the employer or workers’ compensation insurer of the employer for reasonable

attorney’s fees and court costs incurred in

the resolution of the subrogation claim, as

determined by the court.

(b) EFFECT ON CERTAIN CIVIL ACTIONS.—(1)

In any civil action subject to this Act in

which damages are sought for harm for

which the person injured is or would have

been entitled to receive compensation under

any State or Federal workers’ compensation

law, no third party tortfeasor may maintain

any action for implied indemnity or contribution against the employer, any

coemployee, or the exclusive representative

of the person who was injured.

(2) Nothing in this Act shall be construed

to affect any provision of a State or Federal

workers’ compensation law which prohibits a

person who is or would have been entitled to

receive compensation under any such law, or

any other person whose claim is or would

have been derivative from such a claim, from

recovering for harm caused by a product in

any action other than a workers’ compensation claim against a present or former employer or workers’ compensation insurer of

the employer, any coemployee, or the exclusive representative of the person who was injured.

(3) Nothing in this Act shall be construed

to affect any State or Federal workers’ compensation law which permits recovery based

on a claim of an intentional tort by the employer or coemployee, where the claimant’s

harm was caused by such an intentional tort.

SEC. 206. SEVERAL LIABILITY FOR NONECONOMIC LOSS.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

subsection (b), in any civil action subject to

this Act, the liability of each defendant for

noneconomic loss shall be joint and several.

(b) DE MINIMIS EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), in any civil action subject

to this Act, the liability for noneconomic

loss of each defendant found to be less than

15% at fault shall be several only and shall

not be joint. Each defendant shall be liable

only for the amount of noneconomic loss allocated to such defendant in direct proportion to such defendant’s percentage of responsibility as determined under subsection

(c). A separate judgment shall be rendered

against such defendant for that amount.

(c) PROPORTION OF RESPONSIBILITY.—For

purposes of this section, the trier of fact

shall determine the proportion of responsibility of each party for the claimant’s

harm.

(b) OTHER CIVIL ACTIONS.—In any civil action subject to this Act in which not all defendants are manufacturers or product sellers and the trier of fact determines that no

liability exists against those defendants who

are not manufacturers or product sellers, the

court shall enter a judgment notwithstanding the verdict in favor of any defendant

which is a manufacturer or product seller if

it is proved that the claimant was intoxicated or was under the influence of intoxicating alcohol or any drug and that as a

proximate cause of such intoxication or the

influence of the alcohol or drug the claimant

was more than 50 percent responsible for the

accident or event which resulted in such

claimant’s harm.

(c) INTOXICATION DETERMINATION TO BE

MADE UNDER STATE LAW.—For purposes of

this section, the determination of whether a

person was intoxicated or was under the influence of intoxicating alcohol or any drug

shall be made pursuant to applicable State

law.

(d) DEFINITION.—As used in this section,

the term ‘‘drug’’ means any non-over-thecounter drug which has not been prescribed

by a physician for use by the claimant.

McCONNELL AMENDMENT NO. 748

(Ordered to lie on the table.)

Mr. BREAUX submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him

to amendment No. 690, proposed by Mr.

COVERDELL to amendment No. 596, proposed by Mr. GORTON, to the bill, H.R.

956, supra; as follows:

In amendment No. 655, add the following

new subsection (c):

(c) This Section shall not apply to foreign

manufacturers located in a country:

(i) with which the United States has an

Agreement of Friendship, Commerce and

Navigation, or the equivalent, which provides for nationals of that country to receive

national treatment with respect to access to

the courts of justice within the territory of

the United States;

(ii) with that is a signatory to the Hague

Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or

Commercial Matters;

(iii) with that is a signatory to the Hague

Convention on the Taking of Evidence

Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters; or

(iv) with which the United States has a

Consular Agreement, or the equivalent, permitting consular service of process within

that country;

at the time a relevant product liability action is initiated.

HARKIN AMENDMENT NO. 749

Mr. HARKIN proposed an amendment

to amendment No. 690 proposed by Mr.

COVERDELL to amendment No. 596 proposed by Mr. GORTON to the bill H.R.

956, supra; as follows:

In section 107(b) of the amendment as

amended by amendment No. 709, insert the

following:

(6)(i) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the

amount of punitive damages that may be

awarded in any product liability action that

is subject to this title against an owner of an

unincorporated business, or any partnership,

corporation, unit of local government, or organization that has 25 or more full-time employees shall be the greater of—

(I) an amount determined under paragraph

(1); or

(II) 2 times the average value of the annual

compensation of the chief executive officer

(or the equivalent employee) of such entity

during the 3 full fiscal years of the entity

immediately preceding the date on which the

award of punitive damages is made.

(ii) For the purposes of this subparagraph,

the term ‘compensation’ includes the value

of any salary, benefit, bonus, grant, stock

option, insurance policy, club membership,

or any other matter having pecuniary

value.’’.

COMMITTEE ON RULES AND ADMINISTRATION

NOTICES OF HEARINGS

fMr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I wish

to announce that the Committee on

Rules and Administration will meet in

SD–106, Dirksen Senate Office Building,

on Thursday, May 11, 1995, at 9:30 a.m.,

to receive testimony on the Smithsonian Institution: Management Guidelines for the Future.

For further information concerning

this hearing, please contact Christine

Ciccone of the committee staff on 224–

5647.

COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL

RESOURCES

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I

would like to announce for the public

that a hearing has been scheduled before the full Committee on Energy and

Natural Resources to review Nuclear

Regulatory Commission licensing activities with regard to the Department

of Energy’s civilian nuclear waste disposal program and other matters within the jurisdiction of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The hearing will take place Tuesday,

May 16, 1995, at 9:30 a.m., in room SD–

366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC.

Witnesses may testify by invitation

only. For further information, please

call Karen Hunsicker at (202) 224–4971.

SUBCOMMITTEE ON PARKS, HISTORIC

PRESERVATION AND RECREATION

Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, I

would like to announce for the public

that an oversight hearing has been

scheduled before the Subcommittee on

Parks, Historic Preservation and

Recreation.

The hearing will take place Tuesday,

May 23, 1995, at 2:30 p.m. in room SD–

366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC.

The purpose of this oversight hearing

is to review the Department of the Interior’s programs, policies, and budget

implications on the reintroduction of

wolves in and around Yellowstone National Park.

Because of the limited time available

for the hearing, witnesses may testify

by invitation only. However, those

wishing to submit written testimony

for the hearing record should send two

copies of their testimony to the Subcommittee on Parks, Historic Preservation and Recreation, Committee on

Energy and Natural Resources, U.S.

Senate, 304 Dirksen Senate Office

Building, Washington, DC 20510–6150.

For further information, please contact Jim O’Toole of the subcommittee

staff at (202) 224–5161.

SUBCOMMITTEE ON FORESTS AND PUBLIC LANDS

Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, I would

like to announce for the information of

the Senate and the public that a hearing has been scheduled before the Subcommittee on Forests and Public

Lands to receive testimony on the

property line disputes within the Nez

Perce Indian Reservation in Idaho.

The hearing will take place on May

25, 1995, at 9:30 a.m. in room SD 366 of

the Dirksen Senate Office Building in

Washington, DC.

Those wishing to testify or who

which to submit written statements

should write to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510. For further

information, please call Andrew

Lundquist at (202) 224–6170.
S6366 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 9, 1995

AUTHORITY FOR COMMITTEES TO

MEET

COMMITTEE ON FINANCE

Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Finance Committee be permitted to meet Tuesday,

May 9, 1995, beginning at 9:30 a.m. in

room SD–215, to conduct a hearing on

Medicare solvency.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without

objection, it is so ordered.

SUBCOMMITTEE ON DISABILITY POLICY

Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee

on Disability Policy, Committee on

Labor and Human Resources, be authorized to meet during the session of

the Senate on Tuesday, May 9, at 9

a.m., to conduct a hearing on ‘‘Part B

of the Individuals with Disabilities

Education Act.’’

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without

objection, it is so ordered.

SUBCOMMITTEE ON PERSONNEL

Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the subcommittee

on personnel and the Subcommittee on

Readiness of the Committee on Armed

Services be authorized to meet at 9

a.m. on Tuesday, May 9, 1995, in open

session, to receive testimony regarding

military family housing issues in review of S. 727, the national defense authorization bill for fiscal year 1996, and

the Future Years Defense Program.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without

objection, it is so ordered.

SUBCOMMITTEE ON SEAPOWER

Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee

on Seapower of the Committee on

Armed Services be authorized to meet

at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 9, 1995, in

open session, to receive testimony on

the Department of the Navy’s implementation of its strategy for littoral

warfare in review of S. 727, the Defense

Authorization Act for fiscal year 1996

and the Future Years Defense Program.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without

objection, it is so ordered.

SUBCOMMITTEE ON SUPERFUND, WASTE

CONTROL, AND RISK ASSESSMENT

Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee

on Superfund, Waste Control, and Risk

Assessment be granted permission to

conduct an oversight hearing Tuesday,

May 9, at 9 a.m., regarding the Comprehensive Environmental Response,

Compensation, and Liability Act.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without

objection, it is so ordered.

ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

fREGARDING IRAN

∑ Mr. D’AMATO. Mr. President, I rise

today to discuss the ongoing situation

in Iran.

Clearly, the situation in Iran today is

one of desperation. The Iranian people,

suffering the depredations of 16 years

of rule by a corrupt, terrorist, regime,

deserve better. They deserve to have a

government that respects the rich and

dignified history of the Iranian people.

Unfortunately, what they have gotten

is a government that violates their

human rights and has brought a formerly rich and varied economy down

upon the shoulders of the people, suffocating them.

While we know that the regime in

Teheran practices terrorism with great

frequency throughout the world, most

people forget that they also inflict terror against their own people. If they

will torture and execute their own people, what respect will they have for

those of other nations?

Mr. President, today we must understand one simple fact: the terrorist regime in Iran does not represent the Iranian people. It represents murder, terror, and destruction, nothing more and

nothing less. The Iranian people deserve better, and they deserve freedom

from the corrupt rule of the terrorist

regime that calls itself the Government of Iran.

GOVERNOR EDWARDS ON THE

CONTRACT WITH AMERICA

∑

f∑ Mr. BREAUX. Mr. President, I ask

unanimous consent that a speech by

Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards be

printed in the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD.

Governor Edwards recently made remarks concerning the House-passed

Contract With America and its effect

on Louisiana. I found Governor Edward’s remarks very informative, and I

wanted to share them with my colleagues.

The speech follows:

SPEECH BY GOVERNOR EDWARDS

I have said repeatedly that I do not believe

the actions of American voters last fall were

an endorsement of the so-called Republican

‘‘Contract with America’’ so much as a general dissatisfaction with the status quo and

a desire for new faces.

National surveys indicate that few voters

knew anything about the contents of the socalled contract when they went to the polls,

and still fewer based their votes on support

for its provisions.

As the Republican Congressional leaders

continue to act upon what they claim is a

mandate for their so-called contract, however, it has been necessary for me as a responsible Governor of a small state (1.7 percent of U.S. population) with a large percentage of poor people to take a closer look at

just what the provisions mean to the people

of Louisiana.

I don’t like what I see. I am convinced that

Louisianians, at least, would not have voted

for the contract. I am alarmed because it appears that the end result effectively will be

a contract ‘‘on’’ the children of Louisiana

and, ultimately, on the well-being of the entire state.

Neither Louisiana nor our nation can afford to balance the federal budget on the

backs of its most vulnerable and its most

precious resources—its children. But what

makes these particular efforts even more onerous is that the cuts will not be applied to

reduce the federal deficit and, thus, reduce

the price these same children will be paying

on behalf of the nation in the future. Rather,

the cuts will be used to compensate for tax

breaks to wealthy individuals and corporations.

This ‘‘contract on Louisiana children’’

means that while families with incomes of

$200,000 a year get tax breaks that will put

cash in their pockets, many of our poor children will have food taken out of their

mouths. Literally, 59,000 of Louisiana’s poor

children will lose school lunches; 28,500 poor

children will lose meals and snacks in childcare and Head Start programs, and about

410,000 children will lose 10 percent of their

food stamp benefits.

Under the welfare block grant proposal of

House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Louisiana

will lose about $1.68 billion over the next five

years that otherwise would be used for our

children—especially those who are poor, hungry, disabled, abused or neglected, or sick.

Even setting aside the devastating human

effect, the state would suffer economically.

The $1.68 billion potentially lost to the

state’s economy represents almost twice as

much as Louisiana’s annual, net income-tax

revenues. The ripple effect throughout our

business community—whether it be ‘‘Mom

and Pop’’ service stations, shoe shops or grocery chains would be a disaster that would

have a ruinous ‘‘trickle down’’ effect on our

parishes and towns.

Louisiana already is struggling to meet its

obligations to serve the health-care needs of

our poor people under new federal Medicaid

requirements that have reduced federal aid

to the state and threaten to wipe out new

economic gains the state is making. We cannot afford this contract on our state’s economy.

And that would only be the start. Louisiana would get a smaller share of federal dollars that it does today, despite having a larger proportion of poor people than most other

states and an average per-capita income that

is only 80 percent of the U.S. average. History shows that block grants tend to shrink

over years as the spotlight fades away from

them. Further, if the national economy fell

into a decline, there would be no strengthening of the assistance safety net.

And there is more. The contract threatens

the 433,958 children under age 21 who received Medicaid-covered services in 1993 in

Louisiana at a cost of about $1,928 per child.

In 1991, 31,420 births were financed by Medicaid, and payments for maternity and newborn care were 4.5 percent of total Medicaid

expenditures in the state. Meanwhile the infant mortality rate decreased by 22 percent

between 1984 and 1992—from 12.1 to 9.4 per

1,000 live births—obviously a result of better

access to health care, among other factors.

What will happen to the birth rate, to the

pregnant mothers, the infants, and to our

children if that access is reduced because of

budget cuts? That is a campaign ‘‘contract’’

victory I for one would not care to claim.

I am the very embodiment of the difference

a good education can make in the future of

a poor child. However, if Republicans succeed with their stated intentions: 101,621

Louisiana college students—who already pay

more than the Southern states’ average in

tuition—will pay more for student loans; 670

of Louisiana’s young people will not participate in national service jobs that allow them

to earn college tuition; 62 of our state’s 66

school districts will lose money now available to help them make their schools safe

and drug-free; 2,400 Louisiana students with

special needs will lose extra help they need

to learn and to succeed, and 27,000 teenagers

in Louisiana will lose summer jobs.

Our young people cannot afford this ‘‘contract on their future.’’

And there is more: 7,460 Louisiana children

are at risk of losing access to safe, affordable

child care—a move which not only threatens

the well-being of the children but also the