Paul Coverdell: “Mr. President, of course, the matter before the Senate is the Volunteer Protection Act which we had hoped would be a…”

“Mr. President, of course, the matter before the Senate is the Volunteer Protection Act which we had hoped would be a response to an historic bipartisan summit on voluntarism. The Volunteer Protection Act is designed to stop a circumstance developing in our country where volunteers are frightened to participate in the 600,000 volunteer organizations for fear that by participating they will have put their family and their family's assets at risk. In the American Bar Association's section of business law recently a very balanced article occurs about the subject. It says: An analysis of the laws around the Nation uncovers two important facts. This is not exactly a partisan outfit. Many volunteers remain fully liable for any harm they cause and all volunteers remain liable for some actions. Prior to 1980, the number of significant lawsuits filed against volunteers might have been counted on one hand-- Prior to 1980, lawsuits directed at volunteers could be counted on one hand-- with fingers left over. But that all changed in the mid 1980's as several suits against volunteers attracted national media attention.”