House Judiciary ranking member John Conyers, D-Mich., and Democratic Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee and Max Sandlin, both of Texas, joined representatives from the NAACP and other interest groups Thursday to release a report indicating the class action bill awaiting a Senate vote could have an adverse impact on racial and ethnic minorities.
The report, prepared by the Center for Justice and Democracy, charged the class action bill would "severely overburden" federal courts and make it more difficult for victims of discrimination to seek redress through the class action system.
"The dirty little secret of the so-called tort reform movement is that it is premised on racist notions and would have a massively disproportionate impact on African-Americans, Hispanics and other minorities," Conyers said at a news conference.
Also Thursday, Public Citizen President Joan Claybrook challenged U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donohue to a debate over issues raised in the Chamber's national advertising campaign calling for an overhaul of federal and state litigation systems.
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