US Republicans Seek Liability Protections as Coronavirus Aid Battle Looms
A battle in the U.S. Congress over a new coronavirus-aid bill began on Friday as Republicans were putting the finishing touches on provisions granting liability protections for a wide range of entities resuming…
A battle in the U.S. Congress over a new coronavirus-aid bill began on Friday as Republicans were putting the finishing touches on provisions granting liability protections for a wide range of entities resuming operations amid the pandemic.
A draft of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s plan, which was reviewed by Reuters, would provide protections from lawsuits for at least four years for government agencies, “schools, colleges, charities, and businesses that follow public-health guidelines, and for frontline medical workers.”
The plan would also limit liability for new products, such as types of personal protective equipment, if they meet certain Food and Drug Administration requirements, according to the draft.
Democrats say they have not been consulted on the initiative or on any other provisions in the bill that McConnell is expected to publicly unveil next week.
But knowing that it will focus on liability protections, they have attacked Republicans for focusing the next aid bill on stemming lawsuits rather than coming to the rescue of state and local governments struggling to deal with the coronavirus and other healthcare steps.
McConnell has said he hoped that the fifth major coronavirus aid bill to be passed by Congress this year would be the last one and that it would not cost more than $1 trillion.
Leading Democrats, however, have pledged to fight for much more – in the range of the $3 trillion bill approved in mid-May by the House of Representatives – during negotiations over the next couple weeks.
The liability protections, according to the draft document, would sunset at the end of a federal COVID-19 emergency declaration or 2024, whichever comes later, if it became law.