Elections change playing field in Congress.

The elections of 1996 resulted in important changes in Congress and will have an impact on upcoming "tort reform" legislation. A number of important representatives and senators on both sides of the issue in the last Congress have retired or been defeated. The battles fought over this issue in the past two years will be fought again in 1997, with new combatants in the fight

Opponents of federal tort laws are sorry to lose to retirement one of the great champions of the civil justice system, Sen. Howell Heflin (D-Ala.). As the former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court and a past president of the Alabama Trial Lawyers Association (1963-64), "Judge" Heflin, as he was known to his colleagues, has been a tireless opponent of federal "tort reform" bills. ATLA recognized Howell Heflin's legacy of powerful and persuasive opposition by awarding him an honorary life membership at the Boston convention last July.

Congress is also losing several other consistent opponents of "tort reform," including Sens. Bill Bradley (D-N.J.), William Cohen (R-Me.), Paul Simon (D-Ill.), and Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.).

Simpson was a founding member of the Wyoming Trial Lawyers Association in 1969, and Cohen worked as a staff member on ATLAS Law Reporter in the early 1960s.

Also not returning are a number of supporters of the products liability bill. Chief among these is Sen. Larry Pressler (R-S.D.), the powerful chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, which reported the bill out to the Senate. Pressler was the only incumbent member of the Senate to be defeated in 1996. He will be replaced by Rep. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), who opposed the products bill.

Retiring senators who supported the products bill include Hank Brown (R-Colo.), James Exon (D-Neb.), Mark Hatfield (R-Or.), J. Bennett Johnston (D-La.), Nancy Kassebaum (R-Kan.), Sam Nunn (D-Ga), Claiborne Pell (D-R.I.), and David Pryor (D-Ark.). Many of these retirees have a great deal of seniority, with a total of 194 years of Senate tenure among the nine departing members. However, many of the senators-elect chosen to replace these retiring members are also likely to support the products liability bill.

The House of Representatives has had substantial changes as well. A number of dyed-in-the-wool "tort reformers" were defeated in their bids for reelection, and others retired. Many of the incoming freshman members are expected to be more pro-consumer than their predecessors. For instance, the close race of Rep. Bob Dornan (R-Cal.) and Loretta Sanchez (D) replaced a strong opponent of consumer rights with a supporter.

Committee membership

House rules and stronger party cohesiveness in the House than in the Senate tend to diminish the power that individual members can wield on the House floor but increase their power in committee. For this reason, the membership of key House committees is important. "Tort reform" bills fall under the jurisdiction of several committees, particularly the Commerce, Judiciary, Ways and Means, Economic and Educational Opportunities, and Transportation committees.

The memberships of these key committees, too, appear more favorable. Although it seems unlikely that stronger support for the right to hold wrongdoers accountable will prevent legislation from being brought up on the House floor, the new legislation may be more moderate. Further, more "tort reform" opponents on committees of jurisdiction will mean more opponents on conference committees, where the final versions of legislation are hammered out

Although the membership of Congress has changed, powerful forces are still pushing this legislation forward. None of these changes, positive as many of them are, means that "tort reform,, has lost any of its momentum. ATLA will have to work harder than ever to preserve the right to hold wrongdoers accountable.