The Senate passed the bill 72-26, and it now goes to the House.
Bush called the bill a strong step forward. ''Our country depends on a fair legal system that protects people who have been harmed without encouraging junk lawsuits that undermine confidence in our courts while hurting our economy," Bush said in a statement released in Pennsylvania where he was promoting his Social Security proposals.
Thomas Donohue, president of the US Chamber of Commerce, said, ''Now it's time for the House to finish the job and take back our civil justice system from plaintiffs' lawyers seeking jackpot justice."
But Todd A. Smith, president of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, said, ''Every American's legal rights are diminished by this anti-consumer legislation." The association said insurance, tobacco, drug, chemical, and other companies had financed the push to get the legislation through the Senate.
Bush and other bill supporters -- who pushed for the legislation for almost six years -- say it is needed because greedy lawyers have taken advantage of the state system by filing frivolous lawsuits in state courts where they can get big verdicts.
Senators who back the bill say that lawyers make more money from such cases than do victims, and that lawyers sometimes threaten companies with class-action lawsuits just to get quick financial settlements. Regular people, they assure, will not lose their day in court.
Opponents say Bush and other bill supporters are trying to help businesses escape proper judgments for their wrongdoing -- and also to hurt the trial lawyers who litigate the cases, some of whom are big Democratic contributors.
''Are there bad lawyers that bring meritless cases? Sure there are, and we should crack down on them," said Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada, a former trial lawyer. ''But this bill is not about punishing bad lawyers. It is about hurting consumers and helping corporations avoid liability for misconduct."
Eight Democrats were sponsors of the bill, leaving no way to block it.
