John Kerry: “It says: Keane believes the most recent draft of the Kerry language is a politically viable solution, because it serves…”

“It says: Keane believes the most recent draft of the Kerry language is a politically viable solution, because it serves the purpose of protecting against frivolous Y2K litigation and would be signed by the President. Opponents of the Kerry bill argue that it does not adequately address the distribution of damages to the responsible parties. However, Keane believes that the proportional liability language in the Kerry bill addresses this issue. Specifically, your staff has assured us that your language would protect defendants who demonstrate that the plaintiff restricted access to or failed to notify the defendant about any function that could corrupt other Y2K vulnerable systems and defendants who (1) performed a reasonable assessment with a defined methodology for resolution of the plaintiff's Y2K vulnerability prior to implementing the solution, or, (2) implemented the Y2K solution with coordinated comprehensive testing and quality assurance processes. . . . Keane can endorse the Kerry language without reservation. I believe that is reasonable, and I believe it is reasonable because they have looked at the reality of the language we have put forward. I want to go through a little bit of this now. The McCain bill does not protect the individual consumer. They are requiring the individual person to go through the same hoops and the same requirements as a corporation.”