Lawsuit Abuse White House Economy Conference

For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary December 15, 2004

President Discusses Lawsuit Abuse at White House Economy Conference Washington, D.C. President's Remarks 1:32 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Listen, thank you all for coming. I've just come off a campaign -- (laughter) -- and spent a great deal of time talking with the American people about how to make sure America is the best place in the world to do business. And there was a lot of discussion in the course of the last couple of months about what's the best philosophy to make sure that jobs are created here, that the entrepreneurial environment is strong, that small businesses can flourish -- but, most importantly, that people find jobs close to home.

And one of the things that I talked about was making sure that the environment for risking capital was conducive for job creation. And I tried to say that as plainly as I could. And one issue that I talked about to make sure that costs were reasonable and that the cost of capital was reasonable was legal reform, that the cost of frivolous lawsuits, in some cases, make it prohibitively expensive for a small business to stay in business or for a doctor to practice medicine -- in which case, it means the health care costs of a job provider or job creator has escalated, or is escalating. I talked about the competitive advantage that we must have in America if we expect jobs to stay here.

The cost of lawsuits, relative to countries that we compete against, are high. In other words, the cost of litigation in America makes it more difficult for us to compete with nations in Europe, for example.

And so I want to thank our panelists for coming today to help add some expertise to this notion that if we can achieve legal reform in America it'll make it a better place for people either to start a business and/or find work.

Now, there's much more to a comprehensive economic expansion program than just legal reform, but a cornerstone of any good program is legal reform. And there's a practical aspect to our discussions today, because I want the people who get to decide whether we're having legal reform to hear from experts -- and that would be members of the House and Senate from both sides of the aisle. I am here to not only thank our panelists, but to make it clear as I possibly can that I intend to take a legislative package to Congress which says we expect the House and the Senate to pass meaningful liability reform on asbestos, on class action and medical liability. (Applause.)

I want to thank -- I want to thank my good friend, Don Evans, who has served so well as the Secretary of Commerce. As you know, he has made the decision to go back to the state of Texas -- I'm glad my departure was delayed by four years. (Laughter.)

SECRETARY EVANS: So am I. (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT: But I do want to thank him for serving so admirably, and I want to thank you for hosting this event. (Applause.)

FULL TEXT President Discusses Lawsuit Abuse at White House Economy Conference Washington, D.C.