Main Street Recovery Could be Reversed Without Liability Protection

Yesterday on the floor, I discussed the threat frivolous litigation poses to health care workers and small businesses as states begin to reopen their economies. Excerpts of my floor remarks are below, and video can be found here.

Slowly, but surely, recovery is happening.

Every day the needle is moving in a positive direction, but I'm worried that without some protection for these workers, these businesses, these churches and food banks, we're going to reverse course, or stop them dead in their tracks.

Even if businesses and hospitals follow all the relevant guidelines and act in good faith, they could end up fighting a very long and a very expensive lawsuit. They could end up winning that lawsuit, but they could also end up going bankrupt in the process.

Leader McConnell and I, and others, are working on a proposal that would put commonsense reforms in place and protect those acting in good faith from being sued into oblivion.

I want to be absolutely clear about the goals of this legislation: there is no effort to pass a blanket immunity. There is no effort to protect bad actors who willingly put their patients, their employees, or customers in danger.

The Democratic Governor of New York has issued an executive order granting immunity from civil liability to health care workers.

If limiting liability makes sense in New York, then I think it certainly makes sense elsewhere.