[House Report 113-264]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
113th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 113-264
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PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE BILL (H.R. 2655) TO AMEND RULE 11 OF
THE FEDERAL RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE TO IMPROVE ATTORNEY
ACCOUNTABILITY, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES, AND PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION
OF THE BILL (H.R. 982) TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE UNITED STATES CODE TO
REQUIRE THE PUBLIC DISCLOSURE BY TRUSTS ESTABLISHED UNDER SECTION
524(G) OF SUCH TITLE, OF QUARTERLY REPORTS THAT CONTAIN DETAILED
INFORMATION REGARDING THE RECEIPT AND DISPOSITION OF CLAIMS FOR
INJURIES BASED ON EXPOSURE TO ASBESTOS; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
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November 12, 2013.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be
printed
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Mr. Woodall, from the Committee on Rules,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H. Res. 403]
The Committee on Rules, having had under consideration
House Resolution 403, by a nonrecord vote, report the same to
the House with the recommendation that the resolution be
adopted.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS OF THE RESOLUTION
The resolution provides for consideration of H.R. 2655, the
Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act of 2013, under a closed rule. The
resolution provides one hour of debate equally divided and
controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the
Committee on the Judiciary. The resolution waives all points of
order against consideration of the bill and provides that it
shall be considered as read. The resolution waives all points
of order against provisions in the bill. The resolution
provides one motion to recommit.
The resolution also provides for consideration of H.R. 982,
the Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency (FACT) Act of 2013,
under a structured rule. The resolution provides one hour of
general debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and
ranking minority member of the Committee on the Judiciary. The
resolution waives all points of order against consideration of
the bill and provides that it shall be considered as read. The
resolution waives all points of order against provisions in the
bill. The resolution makes in order only those amendments
printed in this report. Each such amendment may be offered only
in the order printed in this report, may be offered only by a
Member designated in this report, shall be considered as read,
shall be debatable for the time specified in this report
equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an
opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be
subject to a demand for division of the question in the House
or in the Committee of the Whole. The resolution waives all
points of order against the amendments printed in this report.
The resolution provides one motion to recommit with or without
instructions.
EXPLANATION OF WAIVERS
Although the resolution waives all points of order against
consideration of H.R. 2655, the Committee is not aware of any
points of order. The waiver is prophylactic in nature.
Although the resolution waives all points of order against
provisions in H.R. 2655, the Committee is not aware of any
points of order. The waiver is prophylactic in nature.
Although the resolution waives all points of order against
consideration of H.R. 982, the Committee is not aware of any
points of order. The waiver is prophylactic in nature.
Although the resolution waives all points of order against
provisions in H.R. 982, the Committee is not aware of any
points of order. The waiver is prophylactic in nature.
Although the resolution waives all points of order against
the amendments to H.R. 982 printed in this report, the
Committee is not aware of any points of order. The waiver is
prophylactic in nature.
SUMMARY OF THE AMENDMENTS MADE IN ORDER
1. Cohen (TN): Exempts from the bill asbestos trusts with
internal anti-fraud procedures. (10 minutes)
2. Nadler (NY): Protects public health and safety by adding
a requirement that any party seeking payment information from a
trust must also make available information relevant to such
action that pertains to public health or safety. (10 minutes)
3. Jackson Lee (TX): Applies the transparency rules in the
bill equally to asbestos industry defendants by requiring
asbestos companies to report information about the location of
their asbestos-containing products and provides an exception
for trade secrets. (10 minutes)
TEXT OF AMENDMENTS MADE IN ORDER
1. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Cohen of Tennessee or
His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes
Page 3, line 9, insert ``that does not have a claims audit
program intended to ensure that claims are valid and supported
and that is'' after ``trust''.
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2. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Nadler of New York or
His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes
Page 4, beginning on line 5, strike ``if'' and all that
follows through ``exposure.'', and insert the following:
if--
(i) the subject of such action
concerns liability for asbestos
exposure; and
(ii) such party agrees to make
available (upon written request)
information relevant to such action
that pertains to the protection of
public health or safety to any other
person or to any Federal or State
entity that has authority to enforce a
law regulating an activity relating to
such information.
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3. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Jackson Lee of Texas or
Her Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes
Beginning on page 3, strike line 9 and all that follows
through line 6 on page 4, and insert the following:
``(8)(A) A trust described in paragraph (2) shall,
subject to subsection (B) and section 107, provide upon
written request and subject to payment (demanded at the
option of the trust) for any reasonable cost incurred
by the trust to comply with such request, to any party
that is a defendant in a pending court action relating
to asbestos exposure, information that is directly
relates to the plaintiff's claim in such action.
``(B) A defendant requesting information under
subparagraph (A) shall first disclose to such plaintiff
and such trust, subject to an appropriate protective
order--
``(i) the name of each asbestos-containing
product mined, manufactured, sold, or purchased
by the defendant at any point in time and the
name and location of each worksite under such
defendant's control at any point in time at
which such asbestos was mined or such product
was manufactured; and
``(ii) each location at which such product
was sold or purchased by such defendant;
except that such information shall not include any
information that is a trade secret.''.