Tort reform legislation is needed to put an end to a "travesty of justice" that is threatening the livelihood of plumbing, heating, and cooling contractors, a member of the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors-National Association (PHCC) told a subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives.

At a hearing of the House Committee on Small Business's Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform and Oversight, Jo Wagner said that the increasing number of "frivolous" lawsuits in the construction industry is jeopardizing the future of America's small business. Wagner is president of CTO Inc., a commercial plumbing-heating-cooling contractor in Harlingen, Texas.