Date: 1984-10-09
Speaker: PHILIP M. CRANE (republican)
Chamber: H

I thank the distinguished gentleman from Michigan for yielding this time to me. I commend the gentleman for the remarks he just made. Mr. Speaker. as the House considers legislation on Federal antitrust laws. it should be noted that we have traveled this road before. On August 8 of this year. the house overwhelmingly passed antitrust legislation. H.R. 6027. by a vote of 414 to 5. It clarified the application of Federal antitrust laws and the impact they have on local governments. However. the Senate recently substitute its own language to H.R. 6027 which completely deletes retroactivity. It is absolutely essential that the original language. which included injunctive relief and retroactivity. is retained. The measure now being taken up under suspension of the rules is incomplete. and as such is seriously flawed. Originally the House Judiciary Committee approved an amendment by Congressman HYDE limiting antitrust action against local government units to suits for Injunctive relief rather than money suits. This amendment eliminated local governments from possible treble damage judgments brought under Federal court. They do not provide Immunity from antitrust violations. but do relieve local taxpayers and local decision makers from the threat of treble damages. Without the type of amendment offered by Congressman HYDE. local taxpayers will be forced to foot the bill in antitrust cases. A retroactivity provision that includes injunctive relief is necessary to address the approximately 300 lawsuits currently pending against cities and other units of local government that have been filed since the Supreme Court rulings which permitted such suites. It will provide new hope for Lake County and Grayslake in their fight to reverse a stunning damage award assessed against them earlier this year. In this case. a Federal court ruled that Grayslake and Lake County must pay $28.5 million in antitrust damages to a developer in a sewer hookup dispute. This judgment represents 6.000 percent of the property tax collected last year by the Village of Grayslake and 150 percent of the amount collected by all of Lake County. If Lake County were to increase its taxes to the maximum legal rate and still provide necessary services to its citizens. it would take the taxpayers 70 years to pay this judgment. Even if they used all of their cash reserves of $14.8 million. payment would still require 35 years. Although this is only one case in which a treble damage judgment was brought. Federal antitrust lawsuits could destroy an entire community. It is of utmost importance that protection be afforded to localities and local officials retroactively as well as prospectively. It would be most unfair. a "manifest injustice". as the Supreme Court noted in Bradley versus Richmond School Board. to single out the one case in which a jury ve.rdict has been rendered. It should alFo be noted that a jury verdict ooes not necessarily constitute final legal action. By providing for retroactivity. we are ensuring that this important piece of legislation does not include narrowly crafted. illconceived wording that will accomplish little but to provide one individual some sense of vengeance. We should not allow our legislative powers and responsibilities to be so manipulated. Further. it should be noted that the Senate has no intention of accepting this bill. The matter of contention does not relate to the above noted problem. but the result will be the sameno legislation at all. The shame is that the House did not go to conference several days ago when the Senate changed H.R. 6027 as passed by the House. At the very least. a rule allowing for the consideration of Congressman HYDEs committee amendment should have been provided. A piece of legislation of this import should not be considered under Suspension of the Rules. At this.point in the RECORD. I should like to include two letters from my district which bear directly upon this matter. The first is representative of misinformation being distributed and the second letter comes from the chairman of the board of Lake County. IL Mr. Glenn E. Miller. Mr. Millers letter places into proper prospective the situation that exists and further illuminates the disappointing "tilt" given the legislation.