S.Amdt. 941

SA 941. Mr. GREGG submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the concurrent resolution S. Con. Res. 13, setting forth the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2010, revising the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal year 2009, and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2011 through 2014; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the appropriate place in title II, insert the following:

SEC. __. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR COMPREHENSIVE MEDICAL LIABILITY REFORM.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Budget may revise the allocations, aggregates, and other levels in this resolution for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, motions, or conference reports that--

(1) addresses the national crisis facing patients losing access to quality health care due to skyrocketing insurance premiums driven by frivolous lawsuits;

(2) encourages the national adoption of proven standards to make the medical liability system more fair, predictable, and timely;

(3) protects the ability of injured patients to get quick, unlimited compensation for their economic losses while setting reasonable limits for pain, suffering, and non-compensatory damages;

(4) promotes the reduction of frivolous lawsuits and allows doctors to practice medicine in a manner that is patient-focused and not lawsuit-driven; and

(5) maintains state flexibility; provided that such legislation would not increase the deficit over either the period of the total of fiscal years 2009 through 2014 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2009 through 2019.