JUSTICE MARSHALL delivered the opinion of the Court.
The Federal Employees Liability Reform and Tort Compensation Act of 1988 (Liability Reform Act or Act) limits the relief available to persons injured by Government employees acting within the scope of their employment. For persons so injured, the Act provides that "[t]he remedy against the
I
In 1982, while working on the medical staff of the United States Army hospital in Vicenza, Italy, Dr. William Marshall served as attending physician to Hildegard Smith during the delivery of her son Dominique. At this time, Ms. Smith's husband, Marcus Smith, was an Army Sergeant stationed in Italy. According to the Smiths, Dominique was born with massive brain damage. In 1987, the Smiths, who are respondents in this Court, sued Dr. Marshall in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, basing jurisdiction on diversity of citizenship. The Smiths alleged that Dr. Marshall's negligence during the delivery caused Dominique's injuries.
The Government intervened and sought to have itself substituted for Dr. Marshall as the defendant pursuant to the Gonzalez Act, 10 U. S. C. § 1089. The Gonzalez Act provides that in suits against military medical personnel for torts committed within the scope of their employment, the Government is to be substituted as the defendant and the suit is to
In 1988, while respondents' appeal was pending, Congress enacted the Liability Reform Act as an amendment to the FTCA. Congress took this action in response to our ruling in Westfall v. Erwin, 484 U.S. 292 (1988), which held that the judicially created doctrine of official immunity does not provide absolute immunity to Government employees for torts committed in the scope of their employment. In Westfall, we ruled that such official immunity would have to be determined on a case-by-case basis, according to whether "the contribution to effective government in particular contexts" from granting immunity "outweighs the potential harm to individual citizens." 484 U. S., at 299. The Liability Reform Act establishes the absolute immunity for Government employees that the Court declined to recognize under the common law in Westfall. The Act confers such immunity by making an FTCA action against the Government the exclusive remedy for torts committed by Government employees in the scope of their employment.
The Ninth Circuit reversed, holding that neither the Gonzalez Act nor the Liability Reform Act required substitution of the Government as the defendant in this suit or otherwise immunized Dr. Marshall from liability. See 885 F.2d 650 (1989).
We granted certiorari, 496 U.S. 924 (1990), to resolve a conflict among the Circuits over whether the Liability Reform Act immunizes Government employees from suit even when an FTCA exception precludes recovery against the Government.
II
Section 5 of the Liability Reform Act states that "[t]he remedy" against the Government under the FTCA "is exclusive
Two provisions in the Liability Reform Act confirm that § 5 makes the FTCA the exclusive mode of recovery for the tort of a Government employee even when the FTCA itself precludes Government liability. The first is § 6 of the Act. As noted, see n. 5, supra, § 6 directs the Attorney General in appropriate tort cases to certify that a Government employee named as defendant was acting within the scope of his employment when he committed the alleged tort. Section 6 also provides that the suit "shall proceed in the same manner as any action against the United States filed pursuant to [the FTCA] and shall be subject to the limitations and exceptions applicable to those actions." 28 U. S. C. § 2679(d)(4) (emphasis added). One of these "exceptions"—expressly designated as such under § 2680—is the provision barring Government liability for torts "arising in a foreign country." § 2680(k). The "limitations and exceptions" langnage in § 6 of the Liability Reform Act persuades us that Congress recognized that the required substitution of the United States as the defendant in tort suits filed against Government employees would sometimes foreclose a tort plaintiff's recovery altogether.
The second basis of our interpretation arises from the express preservations of employee liability in § 5. Section 5 declares that the FTCA is not the exclusive remedy for torts committed by Government employees in the scope of their employment when an injured plaintiff brings: (1) a Bivens action,
The Ninth Circuit's analysis rests on a misunderstanding of the purpose and effect of § 9. By its terms, § 9 does not invest TVA employees with more immunity than § 5 affords other Government employees. Rather, § 9 provides merely that a suit against the TVA, 16 U. S. C. § 831c-2(a)(1), rather than one against the United States, 28 U. S. C. § 2679(b)(1), shall be the exclusive remedy for the employment-related torts of TVA employees. This adjustment of the Liability Reform Act's immunity scheme is perfectly sensible, for although the United States may not be held liable for the TVA's activities, the TVA itself "[m]ay sue and be sued in its corporate name." 16 U. S. C. § 831c(b). Courts have read this "sue or be sued" clause as making the TVA liable to suit
Seen in this light, the enactment of § 9 supports no inference either way on the scope of § 5 immunity when suit against the United States is precluded under the FTCA. Both the plain language and legislative history of § 9 indicate that the provision was intended to give TVA employees the same degree of immunity as § 5 gives other Government employees. Compare 28 U. S. C. § 2679(b)(1), with 16 U. S. C. § 831c-2(a)(1). See also 134 Cong. Rec. 31054 (1988) (remarks of Sen. Heflin). But because the scope of immunity conferred to employees is the same, § 9 has no bearing upon whether Congress viewed § 5 as protecting Government employees from liability when suit against the United States is precluded under the FTCA.
III
A
In support of the decision below, respondents advance reasoning not relied upon by the Ninth Circuit. They invoke the well-established principle of statutory interpretation that implied repeals should be avoided. See, e. g., Randall v.
The Gonzalez Act is one of a series of immunity statutes enacted prior to the Liability Reform Act that were designed to protect certain classes of Government employees from the threat of personal liability.
B
Respondents next raise a second and slightly different argument involving the Gonzalez Act. They contend that the Liability Reform Act was meant to apply solely to those Government employees not already protected from tort liability in some fashion by a pre-existing federal immunity
The Liability Reform Act's plain language makes no distinction between employees who are covered under pre-Act immunity statutes and those who are not. Section 5 states that, with respect to a tort committed by "any employee of the Government" within the scope of employment, the FTCA provides the exclusive remedy. See 28 U. S. C. § 2679(b)(1) (emphasis added). No language in § 5 or elsewhere in the statute purports to restrict the phrases "any employee of the Government," as respondents urge, to reach only employees not protected from liability by another statute. When Congress wanted to limit the scope of immunity available under the Liability Reform Act, it did so expressly, as it did in preserving employee liability for Bivens actions and for actions brought under a federal statute authorizing recovery against the individual employee. § 2679(b)(2); see also supra, at 166-167. In drafting the Liability Reform Act, Congress clearly was aware of the pre-Act immunity statutes. See H. R. Rep. 100-700, p. 4 (1988) (citing these statutes, including the Gonzalez Act). We must conclude that if Congress had intended to limit the protection under the Act to employees not covered under the pre-Act statutes, it would have said as much.
C
Finally, respondents argue that their claim falls within one of the two express exceptions under the Liability Reform
The dissent disagrees. According to the dissent, unless § 2679(b)(2)(B) "was intended to preserve the Gonzalez Act remedy, it was essentially without purpose." Post, at 183. However, the dissent never attempts to square this assertion with the plain language of § 2679(b)(2)(B), which permits only those suits against Government employees "brought for a violation of a statute of the United States under which such action against an [employee] is otherwise authorized" (emphasis added). At no point does the dissent indicate how a military physician's malpractice under state or foreign law could be deemed a "violation" of the Gonzalez Act. Nor can the dissent avoid this obstacle merely by invoking the canon of statutory construction that every provision of a law should be given meaning. See post, at 183, and n. 8. It is true that the legislative history fails to disclose (and neither we nor the dissent has attempted to discover) what cause(s) of action Congress sought to preserve when it enacted § 2679(b)(2)(B), but a malpractice suit alleging a "violation" of the Gonzalez
The dissent resists this conclusion because it is impressed by "Congress' general intent, expressed throughout the hearings and in the House Report, that [the Liability Reform Act] not curtail any pre-existing remedies of tort victims." Post, at 183. The truth is, however, that the legislative history reveals considerably less solicitude for tort plaintiffs' rights than the dissent suggests. As we have already noted, see n. 9, supra, the House Report expressly warned that, under the Liability Reform Act, "any claim against the government that is precluded by [FTCA] exceptions"—which obviously would include claims barred by the exception for causes of action arising abroad—"also is precluded against an employee." H. R. Rep. 100-700, at 6 (emphasis added). This congressional intent was clearly implemented in § 5 of the Act, and we are obliged to give it effect.
IV
For the reasons set forth above, the judgment of the Court of Appeals is reversed, and the case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
So ordered.
JUSTICE STEVENS, dissenting.
The Department of Defense (Department) provides medical and dental care for families of service personnel stationed abroad. Subsection (f) of the Gonzalez Act authorizes the Department to indemnify its health care personnel serving overseas in the event that they are sued for malpractice.
This Gonzalez Act remedy protects both doctors and patients involved in malpractice claims arising out of the performance of health care services for American military
I
The principal purpose of the Gonzalez Act is succinctly stated in its preamble. It was enacted
To achieve its purpose, Congress simply followed the precedent set by four previous amendments to the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), none of which had curtailed any pre-existing remedies.
The Court does not disagree with this interpretation of the Gonzalez Act, see ante, at 170-171, or with the Court of Appeals' conclusion that respondent's claim was viable prior to the enactment of the Liability Reform Act in 1988. See ante, at 172. Thus, the question is whether the Liability Reform Act withdrew the remedy for malpractice claims arising outside of the United States that had been expressly preserved by subsection (f) of the Gonzalez Act.
II
The Liability Reform Act was a direct response to this Court's decision in Westfall v. Erwin, 484 U.S. 292 (1988).
Congress enacted the Liability Reform Act to protect all federal employees from the risk of personal liability that was thought to have been created by Westfall. Congress was particularly concerned that lower level employees, the rank and file "who are least likely to exercise discretion in carrying out their duties," were among those who were most likely to be affected by the Westfall decision. H. R. Rep. No. 100-700, p. 3 (1988).
Section 2 of the Liability Reform Act contains a detailed statement of Congress' reasons for enacting the statute.
Notably, neither that statement, nor anything in the legislative history of the Act, reveals any intent on the part of Congress to limit the scope of pre-existing remedies available to victims of torts committed by federal employees.
There were two recurring themes throughout the hearings on the bill that gave rise to the Liability Reform Act. One theme was that this legislation was not intended to curtail any existing remedies already available to tort victims against federal employees,
Members of Congress not only articulated their intent to preserve the scope of existing remedies during the hearings, but also reinforced that intent by amending the original bill to include § 5(b)(2), 28 U. S. C. § 2679(b)(2). As amended, § 5(b)(2) provides:
As to § 5(b)(2)(A), Congress made explicit throughout the hearings its intent to exclude constitutional violations from the Liability Reform Act's coverage.
The Justice Department explained that the issue of constitutional torts was a controversial one, and one that was not affected by the Court's decision in Westfall because Westfall was limited to common-law torts. Id., at 79. Members of Congress stressed that constitutional torts would not be encompassed by this legislation, and thus, there was no need to address the issue. See, e. g., id., at 40, 195. During the hearings, however, there was some suggestion that an action could involve both a common-law tort and a constitutional violation. See, e. g., id., at 42, 127, 173. In response to this concern, Congress apparently added § 5(b)(2)(A) to make explicit what it had assumed all along: that victims of constitutional violations would remain free to pursue a remedy against the individual employee if they chose to do so.
As to § 5(b)(2)(B), Congress provided no specific explanation for its inclusion, other than its general concern with preserving all pre-existing remedies available to victims of torts committed by federal employees. Just as Congress added § 5(b)(2)(A) to ensure that constitutional torts would not be included within the scope of the Liability Reform Act, similarly, it must have added § 5(b)(2)(B) to ensure that pre-existing remedies protected by a statute would not be affected
The Court's reading of the Liability Reform Act makes § 5(b)(2)(B) superfluous
The Court argues that the "Gonzalez Act remedy" has not been impliedly repealed because "[t]he Gonzalez Act functions solely to protect military medical personnel from malpractice liability; it does not create rights in favor of malpractice plaintiffs." Ante, at 172. This is not strictly accurate because subsection (f) of the Gonzalez Act, as implemented by regulation, did provide malpractice plaintiffs with an important remedy against the United States as the real party in interest that they did not previously have.
Under the Court's holding, the Liability Reform Act has closed the door to all federal and state courts for American victims of malpractice by federal health care personnel stationed abroad.
In Westfall v. Erwin, 484 U.S. 292 (1988), we said that "Congress is in the best position to provide guidance for the complex and often highly empirical inquiry into whether absolute immunity is warranted in a particular context" and we suggested that "[l]egislated standards governing the immunity of federal employees involved in state-law tort actions would be useful." Id., at 300. Today, the Court, by deciding that a section of Congress' handiwork is a nullity, once again invites Congress to step in and "provide guidance."
I respectfully dissent.
FootNotes
"The remedy against the United States provided by [the FTCA] for injury or loss of property, or personal injury or death arising or resulting from the negligent or wrongful act or omission of any employee of the Government while acting within the scope of his office or employment is exclusive of any other civil action or proceeding for money damages by reason of the same subject matter against the employee whose act or omission gave rise to the claim or against the estate of such employee. Any other civil action or proceeding for money damages arising out of or relating to the same subject matter against the employee or the employee's estate is precluded without regard to when the act or omission occurred." 28 U. S. C. § 2679(b)(1).
"The `exclusive remedy' provision . . . is intended to substitute the United States as the solely permissible defendant in all common law tort actions against Federal employees who acted in the scope of employment. Therefore, suits against Federal employees are precluded even where the United States has a defense which prevents actual recovery. Thus, any claim against the government that is precluded by the exceptions set forth in Section 2680 of Title 28, U. S. C.[,] also is precluded against an employee in his or her estate." H. R. Rep. No. 100-700, p. 6 (1988) (emphasis added).
The Ninth Circuit deemed the Report "internally inconsistent," 885 F. 2d, at 656, because of other language in the Report stating that "[u]nder [the Liability Reform Act], no one who previously had the right to initiate a lawsuit will lose that right," H. R. Rep., supra, at 7. The Ninth Circuit understood this passage to suggest that Congress did not intend to narrow existing rights of recovery. However, this language must be read in conjunction with a preceding sentence in the Report, which states that the Act "contains provisions to ensure that no one is unfairly affected by [the Act's] procedural ramifications" and that, where "an injury has occurred before [the Act] is enacted, but no lawsuit has yet been filed . . ., the claimant will have to pursue a remedy against the United States, not against the employee." Ibid. When read in context, the passage relied on by the Ninth Circuit indicates that those with existing lawsuits would be permitted to continue to prosecute them by substituting the Government for the employee. The passage supports only the conclusion that the Liability Reform Act preserved the procedural right to initiate an action. It does not suggest that the Act did not narrow existing substantive rights of recovery.
"The remedy against the United States provided by [the FTCA] for damages for personal injury, including death, caused by the negligent or wrongful act or omission of any physician, dentist, nurse, pharmacist, or paramedical or other supporting personnel . . . of the armed forces . . . while acting within the scope of his duties or employment . . . shall hereafter be exclusive of any other civil action or proceeding by reason of the same subject matter against such physician, dentist, nurse, pharmacist, or paramedical or other supporting personnel (or the estate of such person) whose act or omission gave rise to such action or proceeding."
"The head of the agency concerned may, to the extent that the head of the agency concerned considers appropriate, hold harmless or provide liability insurance for any person described in subsection (a) for damages for personal injury, including death, caused by such person's negligent or wrongful act or omission in the performance of medical, dental, or related health care functions (including clinical studies and investigations) while acting within the scope of such person's duties if such person is assigned to a foreign country . . . ."
"(f) The head of the agency concerned or his designee may, to the extent that he or his designee deems appropriate, hold harmless or provide liability insurance for any person described in subsection (a) for damages for personal injury, including death, caused by such person's negligent or wrongful act or omission in the performance of medical, dental, or related health care functions (including clinical studies and investigations) while acting within the scope of such person's duties if such person is assigned to a foreign country or detailed for service with other than a Federal department, agency, or instrumentality or if the circumstances are such as are likely to preclude the remedies of third persons against the United States described in section 1346(b) of title 28, for such damage or injury." 90 Stat. 1986(f), as amended, 10 U. S. C. § 1089(f).
Another subsection makes the same indemnification arrangement available to members of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. See 90 Stat. 1989, 42 U. S. C. § 2458a(f).
"6. Extent of Protection. Reference (b) [the Gonzalez Act] extends coverage within the United States and its possessions by making suit against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act the exclusive remedy for an injured party. Where the Federal Tort Claims Act does not apply (as, for example, where the acts giving rise to the claim occurred outside the United States), coverage is provided by allowing the Secretary of Defense to hold harmless or provide liability insurance for health care personnel.
"7. Exercise of Authority. By reference (a), the Secretary of Defense delegated to the Secretary of the Navy the authority to hold harmless or provide liability insurance for Navy health care personnel. All persons referred to in paragraph 4 above and in subsection (a) of reference (b) are hereby held harmless for damages resulting from negligent or wrongful acts or omissions while acting within the scope of duties and assigned to duty in a foreign country, or detailed for service with other than a Federal agency, or if the circumstances are such as are likely to preclude remedy against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act, as provided by subsection (f) of reference (b)." Department of the Navy, SECNAV INSTRUCTION 6300.3, JAG:14C (Mar. 14, 1978), App. to Brief for Respondents 2a-3a.
"By making the Federal Tort Claims Act an exclusive remedy, a claimant is forced to sue the United States for damages rather than a government employee in his personal capacity. At least four existing statutes make the Federal Tort Claims Act an exclusive remedy in order to protect a certain class of government employee from personal liability.
"In 1961 the Government Driver's Act (Public Law 87-258) made the Federal Tort Claims Act the exclusive remedy for damages sustained as a result of the negligent operation of a motor vehicle by a federal driver acting within the scope of his employment. The result was to protect federal employees in their individual capacity from tort liability arising from the operation of motor vehicles.
"In 1965, Congress enacted a bill patterned after the Government Driver's Act which protected medical personnel of the Veterans' Administration for individual tort liability from malpractice when acting within the scope of their employment (Public Law 89-311).
"Similar legislation making the Federal Tort Claims Act the exclusive remedy for malpractice was enacted in 1970 to immunize medical personnel of the Public Health Service from personal liability arising out of performance of their medical duties (Public Law 91-623).
"More recently, the Foreign Relations Authorization Act of fiscal year of 1977 (Public Law 94-350) immunized medical personnel of the State Department from personal liability for medical malpractice.
"In all essential respects these four statutes are similar. Each statute abolished old rights recognized by the common law to obtain the legislative object of protecting certain federal employees from suit in their individual capacities.
"H. R. 3954 is modeled after these statutes." S. Rep. No. 94-1264, p. 3 (1976).
"(2) The United States, through the Federal Tort Claims Act, is responsible to injured persons for the common law torts of its employees in the same manner in which the common law historically has recognized the responsibility of an employer for torts committed by its employees within the scope of their employment.
. . . . .
"(4) Recent judicial decisions, and particularly the decision of the United States Supreme Court in Westfall v. Erwin, have seriously eroded the common law tort immunity previously available to Federal employees.
"(5) This erosion of immunity of Federal employees from common law tort liability has created an immediate crisis involving the prospect of personal liability and the threat of protracted personal tort litigation for the entire Federal workforce.
. . . . .
"(7) In its opinion in Westfall v. Erwin, the Supreme Court indicated that the Congress is in the best position to determine the extent to which Federal employees should be personally liable for common law torts, and that legislative consideration of this matter would be useful." 102 Stat. 4563-4564, note following 28 U. S. C. § 2671.
"As my colleagues know, the FTCA has generally worked well over the past four decades in providing fair and expeditious compensation to persons injured by the common law torts of Federal employees. This bill, by covering Westfall-type cases under the FTCA, assures that victims of common law torts of Federal employees will be fairly compensated. At the same time, it provides a needed measure of employee protection from personal liability.
"Mr. President, I would like to emphasize that this bill does not have any effect on the so-called Bivens cases or Constitutional tort claims. Although this too is an area of concern to me—and I have introduced corrective legislation in the past—the bill that we pass today has no impact on these cases, which can continue to be brought against individual Government officials." 134 Cong. Rec. 29933 (1988).
"H. R. 4358 would do nothing more than extend the protection now enjoyed by doctors, drivers, and DoD attorneys to all federal employees. It also will ensure equitable and consistent treatment for persons injured by federal conduct, without regard to the status of the employee whose actions are alleged to have caused the injury." Hearings on H. R. 4358 et al. before the Subcommittee on Administrative Law and Governmental Relations of the House Committee on the Judiciary, 100th Cong., 2d Sess., 76 (1988) (hereinafter House Hearings).
The point was reiterated by others during the hearings and debate. See id., at 34 ("In no way, in no way at all, does this measure infringe or diminish any legal rights of individuals") (statement of Rep. Wolf); id., at 44 ("[W]e want to protect the employees without diminishing the rights of anyone who might be injured") (statement of Chairman Frank); 134 Cong. Rec. 15963 (1988) ("Other remedies under other acts, Civil Rights Act, are not affected at all") (statement of Chairman Frank).
"The purpose of [subsection (f)] is to provide a method for the assumption by the government of responsibility for damage claims against its military medical personnel arising from medical care given in foreign countries in the scope of their employment. Behind it is the desire to protect military medical personnel from the ever-present danger of personal liability ... while preserving a means for compensating malpractice victims for their injuries. . . . Instead of granting military medical personnel practicing in foreign countries absolute immunity from suit for acts within the scope of their employment, Congress elected to have the government protect them through indemnification or insurance. The effect of this approach rather than absolute immunity is to ensure a remedy to victims of malpractice by military medical personnel assigned to a foreign country." Jackson v. Kelly, 557 F.2d 735, 740-741 (1977).
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