Whereas, The health care reform bill passed by the 111th Congress and signed into law by President Obama failed to address our nation's broken medical liability system.

Whereas, There is widespread, bipartisan agreement that the current medical liability system is inefficient, unnecessarily expensive, and is not in the best interests of patients.

Whereas, In states across the country, medical lawsuit abuse is driving good doctors out of the practice of medicine, leaving patients without access to the care they need when they need it.

Whereas, Some states have enacted reforms that have proven to be effective at protecting patient safety, preserving patient access to care, and ensuring that injured patients are compensated quickly and fairly – these should serve as models for effective federal reform.

Whereas, Personal injury lawyers, who typically take 40% of compensation paid to plaintiffs, are working now to undo effective state reforms at the expense of deserving patients.

Therefore, Medical liability reform must be enacted to help control health care costs and ensure patient access to quality medical care.

I urge Congress to take immediate action and enact meaningful changes to our nation's broken medical liability system.