May 21 2009 0 Comments  

The Bush Complete Corporate Immunity and Impunity Program Stopped!

Beth Klein

Beth Klein

The Bush Administration pushed for Complete Immunity and Impunity for Corporations through the doctrine of pre-emption. Drugs that were known to kill unsuspecting consumers were distributed, and their manufacturers had no fear of accountability. Car manufacturers had no reason to improve upon the stale 1970's safety technology that they insured was in place. The manufacturer of a defective heart devices rejoiced when the Bush pre-emption doctrine ended all litigation brought by people who were seriously injured by electric shocks that they recieved from their implants and those that died from the malfunctions. No more. The AP(5/21, Yost) reports, "The Obama White House on Wednesday undid a Bush administration policy that used federal regulations to undermine a wide range of state health, safety and environmental laws" many of which "limited the ability of injured consumers to sue companies in state courts." This is the latest move by the Obama administration to undo pre-emption policy. Kenneth Baer, communications director at the White House Office of Management and Budget, said, "When it comes to pre-emption, we're saying no more of their approach." Now, "the Obama administration will ask agencies to go back and find Bush-era regulations that contain pre-emption language in the preambles or in the body of the regulations and that are not justified by law." The Wall Street Journal(5/21, Mundy, Kendall) reports, "The memo didn't name specific industries but it could affect a wide range of consumer products subject to both federal and state regulation." The Chamber of Commerce's Bryan Quigley said, "Allowing for more lawsuits will not create more jobs, except maybe for plaintiffs' lawyers." However, a statement by the American Association for Justice said, "The move will buttress 'laws designed to give Americans basic rights to hold wrongdoers accountable.'" BusinessWeek(5/21, Francis) reports, "Lauded by the plaintiffs' bar and downplayed by some business groups, Obama's decision reverses a highly charged Bush Administration practice and could help rewrite the legal landscape for everything from pharmaceuticals and beauty products to car safety equipment, mattress flammability, and food sweeteners." It;s long overdue that the rule of law rather than the rule of corporate political contributions prevail in the United States.
Please feel free to ask a question or leave a comment below.

Popular Posts

Posts by Author

Categories

Archives