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D.C. and District Talk

President Bush and medical professionals from southern Illinois at the Gateway Center in Collinsville

· President Bush Stops in Collinsville
As I’m sure many of you have heard, President Bush made a trip to Collinsville this week to bring attention to the medical liability issues that we are facing in southern Illinois. I was honored to have the President in my hometown and was very pleased with the speech that highlighted this crisis. The President highlighted the need for common-sense medical liability reform to protect patients, to stop the sky-rocketing costs associated with frivolous lawsuits, to make health care more affordable and accessible for all Americans, and to keep necessary services in communities that need them most.

I stand with the President in supporting class action reforms to limit the abuse of large, nationwide class action cases and return justice to the truly injured parties. Class action lawsuits are an important part of the U.S. legal system. However, the class action system is heavily abused, which in turn does not benefit injured parties and undermines the American judicial system. In particular, injured parties often receive awards of little or no value while lawyers receive large fees. The proposed class action reform legislation recognizes that large interstate class action lawsuits deserve Federal court access because they typically affect more citizens, involve more money, and implicate more interstate commerce issues than any other types of lawsuits. These reforms do not alter the right of a plaintiff to bring a legitimate claim, or change controlling substantive law, but they do provide additional protection and information to class members.

For a full transcript and a video of the President’s speech please visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/01/20050105-4.html#.

· 109th Congress Convenes

As we begin the 109th Congress there are a lot of changes happening here on Capitol Hill. We have a number of new members, office changes, and new committee assignments. All of my contact information will stay the same but I have put together a list of useful websites for my constituents.

Telephone/Office Directory for Members of the House

http://clerk.house.gov/members/mcapdir.html

2005 Legislative Session Calendar

http://majoritywhip.house.gov/calendar.asp

United States House of Representatives

http://www.house.gov

United States Senate

http://www.senate.gov

E-Mail Me Your Concerns and Opinions

http://www.house.gov/writerep

Find a Bill or Piece of Legislation

http://thomas.loc.gov/home/c109query.html

Freshman Members of the 109th Congress

http://clerk.house.gov/members/electionInfo/2004/new_members_109th.pdf

Anticipated Action on the House Floor Next Week

· Congress will be in recess until the Inauguration of President Bush on January 20, 2005. For more information on the Inauguration please visit http://inaugural.senate.gov.

· Want to know more? Keep an eye on the Office of the Clerk’s web site: http://clerk.house.gov/legisAct/index.html. This site provides up-to-date information on House legislative schedules.

Did You Know?

· You Can Help Tsunami Victims from Your Computer

We have all seen the devastating images from the tsunami that hit Southeast Asia on December 26th, and I know that many people are looking for ways to contribute. For more information on how you can help please visit any of the websites below and be sure to keep all of those affected by this disaster in your hearts and prayers.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/tsunami

https://www.redcross.org

http://www.usafreedomcorps.gov

Thank you for the interest in my newsletter! Remember to tell your friends about it as well--they can sign up on my web page at http://www.house.gov/shimkus.

Sincerely,

Congressman John Shimkus

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