Vice President JD Vance came to the Canton area this summer to tout the benefits of the One Big Beautiful Bill that President Donald Trump just signed into law. The legislation cuts taxes, secures our border and unleashes America’s economic potential. 

I was proud to see the vice president come home to Ohio to talk about the impact the law will have for hardworking Ohioans and the businesses that employ them, especially in smaller cities and towns that Washington has overlooked for too long.

The One Big Beautiful Bill was a colossal achievement. It could have been even better, though, if Congress had not scuttled a key provision at the last minute. 

Right before the Senate voted, lawmakers removed language that would have forced third-party litigation funders – deep-pocketed investors who profit by secretly financing lawsuits against American businesses – to pay income taxes when plaintiffs they back secure a verdict or settlement, rather than exploiting loopholes that allow them to pay little or nothing.

As president and CEO of the Ohio Business Roundtable, it’s a rare day you’ll find me supporting a new tax from Congress. But litigation investment isn’t your run-of-the-mill industry. It’s a Wild West where foreign hedge funds, sovereign wealth funds, and other anonymous investors bankroll lawsuits in U.S. courts – paying legal fees and other expenses – in the hopes of taking a share of the winnings. These entities have no stake in the underlying dispute other than using it as an investment vehicle. Nor are they forced to reveal their involvement in litigation in most venues. Their goal is simple: fund the case and collect a cut.

Average people are burdened by lawsuit abuse

Here in Ohio, we’ve seen the damage third-party litigation funding can cause. The Chamber of Commerce ranked our state 15th worst in the country for lawsuit abuse, and one recent analysis put Ohio’s tort burden at $2,583 per household per year.

That’s a direct cost to working families because the industries that propel our economy become slower and less efficient – instead of investing in jobs or new products, they’re forced to defend themselves in court against investors who have suffered no actual harm and operate from behind the scenes. 

In 2003, the Ohio Supreme Court recognized the dangers of litigation financing and banned civil third-party funding arrangements for violating longstanding legal principles. Unfortunately, Ohio lawmakers passed legislation allowing the practice to continue in 2008. 

That was a mistake. In the time since then, we’ve learned that foreign adversaries – including interests tied to China and Russia – are now covertly funding litigation in American courts for their own strategic goals. In some cases, plaintiffs have even been forced to sue their own funders, and troubling disclosures have raised questions about whom attorneys truly represent: their clients or the investors controlling the purse strings. 

The U.S. Senate Finance Committee, under Republican Chairman Mike Crapo’s leadership, proposed a reasonable fix: a new tax on litigation funders’ proceeds, set at 31.8%, just below the top individual income tax rate. The Committee on Taxation estimated the measure would raise over $2 billion over the next decade – a meaningful amount in any budget conversation.

Congress had a rare opportunity to deliver a win-win: smart policy that generates revenue to ease the burden on taxpayers, while discouraging abusive litigation practices that drain resources from our business community and stifle economic growth. It was disappointing that this was removed from the One Big Beautiful Bill before it went to President Trump’s desk.

The good news is that lawmakers can still get this done. Congress could take up this provision once again, either by including it in a future budget package as a pay-for or by passing it as a standalone bill. At the same time, legislation like Rep. Darrell Issa’s Litigation Transparency Act and House Bill 105 / Senate Bill 10 here in the Ohio legislature would bring long overdue transparency by requiring investors to disclose their involvement in lawsuits. Doing so will provide some much-needed deterrence against litigation funders who are treating our courtrooms as a casino to generate returns on their investment.

Congress missed a good opportunity this summer; next time they shouldn’t let litigation investors off the hook. 

Patrick J. Tiberi is the president and CEO of the Ohio Business Roundtable and a former Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Ohio's 12th Congressional District.