THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, December 11, 1995 TAG: 9512110046
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Long : 150 lines
Shareholder suits: By a vote of 320 for and 102 against, the House sent President Clinton the conference report on a Republican ``Contract With America'' bill (HR 1058) making it more difficult for shareholders to bring securities fraud suits against companies, corporate officers, stockbrokers, accountants and others. The bill seeks to deter investors and their lawyers from filing class action suits of dubious merit in hopes of forcing a settlement. But opponents said it strips away basic legal protections and limits the ability of those actually defrauded to recover their money.
In part, the bill shortens the period for bringing suits, makes it more difficult to base suits on a company's misleading financial forecasts, limits the liability of accountants and lawyers for their employers' misdeeds, and empowers judges to require plaintiffs to pay all legal costs in frivolous suits.
Thomas Bliley, R-Va., said ``we cannot allow the current system to continue, when those who benefit most from it are professional plaintiffs and lawyers. The costs of securities strike suits to our economy . . . are too great.''
John Dingell, D-Mich., said the measure ``sanctifies the most outrageous kind of fraud and misbehavior imaginable. It is a bill that would be beloved by Mike Milken, Ivan Boesky and Charles Keating.''
A yes vote was to approve the bill.
Bateman Yes Pickett Yes
Scott No Sisisky Yes
Clayton No Jones Yes
State, Commerce, Justice: By a vote of 256 for and 166 against, the House approved the conference report on a bill (HR 2076) appropriating $27.3 billion in fiscal 1996 for the departments of State, Justice and Commerce and the federal judiciary. This is one of six appropriations bills that remain unpassed more than two months into the new fiscal year. Until all of the basic 1996 funding bills become law, the government will remain vulnerable to partial shutdowns such as that from Nov. 14 to 19. President Clinton was set to veto this GOP-shaped bill on grounds that it underfunds programs such as United Nations peacekeeping, advanced technology initiatives, the Legal Services Corp. and law enforcement (next issue).
Harold Rogers, R-Ky., said: ``I cannot believe the president says he wants to veto a bill that funds violence against women to the exact penny he requested of us. If members vote against this conference report, or if the president vetoes this bill, they will be (opposing) funding for these programs.''
Julian Dixon, D-Calif., said the Legal Services Corp. ``has done an exemplary job for over 30 years in providing access to the legal system for lower-income Americans'' and that ``the ability of poor Americans to enjoy their rights to adequate legal representation will be eroded'' by the bill.
A yes vote was to approve the bill.
Bateman Yes Pickett No
Scott No Sisisky No
Clayton Didn't vote Jones Yes
Police: Voting 190 for and 231 against, the House rejected an existing $1.9 billion Democratic COPS program to put local police on the streets, opting instead for a Republican plan to include the money in block grants for the states. The vote came during debate on a bill (HR 2076) funding the Justice Department and other agencies (above).
Karen McCarthy, D-Mo., objected to eliminating the COPS initiative, saying: ``If we allow this valuable program to be made into a block grant these funds may be diverted and may not be spent on preventing crime.''
Porter Goss, R-Fla., said allocating the money through block grants ``leaves it up to local officials to determine what the best use will be for those funds.''
A yes vote was to keep direct federal funding of a program enabling communities to hire additional police officers.
Bateman No Pickett Yes
Scott Yes Sisisky Yes
Clayton Yes Jones No Senate
Abortion: By a vote of 54 for and 44 against, the Senate joined the House in passing a bill (HR 1833) that makes it a crime for doctors to perform an abortion procedure used in late term when the mother's life is at stake and/or the fetus is severely malformed. President Clinton said he will veto the legislation, which subjects offending doctors to up to two years in prison and civil liability.
In the partial-delivery abortion outlawed by the bill, doctors partially extract the fetus before using surgical instruments to terminate it, collapse its skull and then complete the removal. Supporters say it is humane to the mother and critics say it is heinous to the fetus. The bill allows the procedure only when it is necessary to save the mother's life and no alternative treatment will keep her alive. This vote sent the bill to conference with a similar House measure.
Dan Coats, R-Ind., said: ``The procedure itself is extreme - extreme in its violence, extreme in its disregard for human life and dignity.''
Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., said federal criminal law ``is a preposterous means of regulating the highly personal, individual decisions facing families with tragic pregnancies.''
A yes vote was to criminalize late-term, partial-delivery abortions.
Robb No Warner Yes
Helms Yes Faircloth Yes
Abortion: The Senate refused, 47 for and 51 against, to broaden the circumstances under which doctors can perform a certain late-term, partial-delivery abortion without facing criminal prosecution. The amendment to HR 1833 (above) legalized the procedure not only to save the mother's life but also ``to avert serious adverse health consequences'' to her. Supporters said the proposed exception was consistent with the Roe vs. Wade decision that is the law of the land on abortion. But critics said it was broad enough to gut the bill.
Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, said: ``Without such an exception, without providing for the life and health exceptions, innocent women are harmed.''
Rick Santorum, R-Pa., said: ``Whether you are for abortions or against abortions, you cannot be for'' this operation, which he called ``a horrific procedure.''
A yes vote was to give doctors more authority to legally perform partial-delivery abortions.
Robb Yes Warner No
Helms No Faircloth No
Fraud: The Senate approved, 65 for and 30 against, the conference report on a bill (HR 1058) making it more difficult for investors and their attorneys to prevail in class-action suits alleging securities fraud (see House issue above). To discourage frivolous actions, the bill requires plaintiffs to detail the suspected fraud when they file their suit. Supporters said this would curb the practice of plaintiffs filing weak suits in order to use the discovery process to induce a settlement. The bill was supported by groups representing CPAs, corporate boards and Silicon Valley technology companies. It was opposed by organizations such as the Consumer Federation of America and the American Trial Lawyers Association.
Alfonse D'Amato, R-N.Y., said the bill goes after ``the greatest abuse that is taking place, which is lawyers who do not represent the general public but represent themselves'' in filing suits for ``for-hire plaintiffs who are not really aggrieved.''
Paul Sarbanes, D-Md., said: ``This legislation will affect far more than frivolous suits. . . . (It) will make it more difficult for investors to bring and recover damages . . . in legitimate fraud actions. As the editors of Money magazine concluded, this legislation hurts investors.''
A yes vote was to pass the bill.
Robb Yes Warner Yes
Helms Yes Faircloth Yes ILLUSTRATION: ROLL CALL: How area members of Congress voted for the week
ending Dec. 8.
[Photos, telephone numbers and addresses of senators and
representatives from Virginia and North Carolina.]
To reach any representative or senator on any issues that concern
you, call (202) 224-3121.
by CNB