It has now become necessary to put an end to the current patchwork of U.S. liability laws that put a choke hold on business and do little to ensure the safety of our citizens. Through the National Governors' Association, Governors have dealt with this issue for thirteen years, consistently seeking relief from the high cost of product liability litigation and complicated means of seeking redress. At their recent meeting on February 4. 1997, the Governors once again voted to support a uniform national product liability law. Copies of NGA policy and correspondence are attached for the hearing record. This is a bipartisan issue whose time for action has arrived.
Governors support federal preemption of state product liability laws for a number of reasons.
Variant litigation and insurance settlements are time-consuming, costly, unpredictable, and counterproductive. Consumers need prompt payments, fair settlements, and new jobs generated by new products. Lengthy legal complications cause unnecessary price increases for consumers and slow development of new technology. Global competition requires costs to be competitive. There are many excellent examples of federal uniform laws with state flexibility, in the national highway system, truck and bus drivers' licenses, highway and bridge standards, food and safety regulations, environmental protection under the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act, and now in health care reform, such as portability and prior conditions.