U.S. Congress regulatory update

President Clinton promised to veto H.R. 956, the Common Sense Product Liability Legal Reform Act of 1996, but lauded provisions of the legislation that would eliminate the liability of raw materials manufacturers in cases involving products incorporating their materials.

In his warning to lawmakers last week, Clinton said the legislation in its current form "represents an unwarranted intrusion on state authority, in the interest of protecting manufacturers and sellers of defective products." However, he said that the Biomaterials Access Assurance Act (H.R. 753), which was folded into H.R. 956, "is a laudable attempt to ensure that suppliers of biomaterials will provide sufficient quantities of their products to manufacturers of medical devices. The administration is committed to working with Congress to address this issue." ...