And even a cap of a quarter-million dollars would rank the U.S. among the most generous countries in the world for such awards. We know capping non-economic damages will work. I understand that Larry Smarr has arranged for an expert on the California experience to take part in today s program. These and other liability reforms backed by HCLA and supported widely in the legal reform community would do a great deal to restore common sense and justice for all into the American legal system. Congress needs to act now to enact meaningful medical liability reform.
Reform can t wait.
We re paying too high a price too high a price in defensive medicine to high a price in limited medical access too high a price in medical innovations lost because of fear of lawsuit abuse. That s a message I hope you will take back to your Congressmen and Senators, and to your colleagues here on Capitol Hill. The House alone has passed some form of health care liability reform six times since 1995. I say the House alone because the Senate, so far, has proved the graveyard for health care liability reform. With the help of the people in this room, reformers can summon up the strength to charge up the Hill again, and make the 106 th Congress the reform Congress that strengthens the rule of law in our American legal system.