This Week With Mac Collins - Protecting the Food Industry from Frivolous Lawsuits

This Week With Mac Collins
Protecting the Food Industry from Frivolous Lawsuits

On Wednesday, with my support, the House passed, the Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act (H.R. 339). H.R. 339 would prohibit obesity or weight gain-related lawsuits against the food industry. This important legislation is in response to a number of recent lawsuits against the food service industry claiming that it should pay monetary damages for the over-consumption of its products. The food service industry employs some 12 million people, making it the nation's largest private sector employer. H.R. 339 will help prevent frivolous lawsuits that are overwhelming our courts and costs businesses and taxpayers unnecessary spending.

While H.R. 339 would help stop frivolous lawsuits, it would allow for claims in cases where a state or Federal law was broken. Under H.R. 339, cases could also go forward if a company violates an express contract or warranty. Since H.R. 339 only applies to claims based on "weight gain" or "obesity," lawsuits pertaining to other food related violations are not affected.

Increasing Fines for Indecent Programming
On Thursday, with my strong support, the House of Representatives passed the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act (H.R. 3717) in a vote of 391 to 22. I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this legislation. Over the past several years, there has been a continued increase in offensive and obscene material being aired on radio and network television. For this reason, Congress has acted in the past to help protect families from the decline of standards on television. Congress has passed legislation requiring "v-chip" technology in television sets, and the industry began rating their television programs to help parents screen programs they watch for objectionable content. Unfortunately, these efforts have not stopped performers on live broadcast from improvising with indecent words and actions. To that end, the House passed H.R. 3717 which would increase the maximum fine for indecency from $27,500 to $500,000. Additionally, the bill would remove the first time warning and allow for immediate fines to networks and entertainers for first time offense. It would mandate that the FCC hold a license revocation hearing after the third offense by a broadcaster and impose a 180 turnaround time for the FCC to make a ruling after receiving an initial complaint. H.R. 3717 applies to broadcast network and radio; it does not apply to satellite or cable programming.

State Justice Institute Reauthorization Act
This week, the House of Representatives passed the State Justice Institute Reauthorization Act (H.R. 2714). H.R. 2714 authorizes the operations of the State Justice Institute (SJI) for FYs 2005-08. Congress created SJI as a private nonprofit corporation in 1984 (P.L. 98-620). SJI serves a Federal interest by allocating grant money to state courts to help make them more efficient. Since becoming operational in 1987, the Institute has awarded more than $125 million in grants to support over 1,000 projects. Another $40 million in matching requirements has been generated from other public and private funding sources.

Cooperative Research and Technology Enhancement Act
This week, the House passed the Cooperative Research and Technology Enhancement Act (CREATE, H.R. 2391). Collaborative research among private, public and non-profit entities is an essential pillar of the American economy, and H.R. 2391 seeks to clarify Congress' intent to permit the patenting of inventions that result from collaborative or "team research" in circumstances not permitted under current law. The CREATE Act is expected to foster improved communication among researchers, provide additional certainty and structure for those who engage in collaborative research, reduce patent litigation incentives, and spur innovation and investment.

Members of the Georgia American Legion and the VFW come to Washington, D.C.
This week, I met with two veterans organizations in Washington, D.C. First, I met with several members of the Georgia American Legion to discuss their legislative issues for the 108th Congress. The American Legion is a patriotic, mutual-help, war-time veterans organization with 2.8 million members in nearly 15,000 American Legion Posts in all 50 states and worldwide. In the state of Georgia, there are 50,500 members who belong to 246 posts.

I also had the pleasure to meet with Georgia Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) members to discuss the VFW's legislative issues. There are over 1.9 million members of the VFW who belong to 9,500 posts worldwide. In the state of Georgia there are 22,890 members who belong to 140 posts. Membership includes Veterans from four wars and active duty service members who have been involved in expeditionary campaigns.

I am extremely proud to meet with Veterans who have sacrificed so much to provide the freedoms we enjoy today. They continue to serve their country by meeting with members of Congress and by helping to shape legislation which affects our Veteran population.

Visitors to Washington, D.C.
This week, my staff and I met with a number of groups from throughout Georgia. Among those visiting Washington, D.C. were representatives from the Georgia Association of Christian Schools, the Society for Human Resource Management, the Georgia Rehabilitation Association, Hemophilia of Georgia, the Georgia Employer Committee, the Jackson County Board of Commissioners, the Habersham Winery, and the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.