Iowa CSE Fires Up Activists at Issue Forums

“I want to compliment the Citizens for a Sound Economy… I’m proud to be here to talk about class action reform.”– Senator Chuck Grassley

(Des Moines, IA) — On Friday, June 9, Iowa CSE sponsored four issue forums to educate activists about technology regulation and antitrust issues, education, environmental policy, and scrapping the tax code. Iowa CSE then held a breakfast focusing on tort reform on Saturday, June 10. Senator Charles Grassley spoke to a packed room of over 750 activists about the need for class action lawsuit reform. Senator Grassley also spoke about the usefulness of CSE in getting such reforms passed, “I want to compliment all of you who have joined this effort at the grassroots. Because an organization like CSE would not be the powerhouse in Washington they are without the grassroots support and grassroots letter writing you do…”

Antitrust Issue Forum. In an effort to educate attendees on class action lawsuit abuse pertaining to technology, IA CSE hosted a panel to specifically discuss the Department of Justice’s antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft Corporation. A two-person panel featuring State Rep. Jamie Van Fossen, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and CSE Deputy Director of Technology and Communications Policy Kent Lassman discussed and educated the participants about the onerous antitrust case. Presenting before a packed crowd of over 120 people, Rep. Van Fossen and Mr. Lassman described how government intervention into the technology sector would ultimately hinder competition and innovation to the detriment of consumers. Furthermore, Mr. Lassman and Rep. Van Fossen described how state class action lawsuits erupted after the Department of Justice’s suit was brought against Microsoft Corporation. Coupled with the discussion of class action lawsuit abuse, Messrs. Lassman and Van Fossen discussed telecommunication taxes, specifically the federal excise tax and proposed Internet taxes.

Grassroots Education. Throughout the day, IA CSE equipped and educated the attendees by distributing over 400 bags with CSE literature on antitrust and civil justice reform issues. Additional literature and novelty items were distributed to all attendees at the technology and antitrust forum.