John Kerry: “I will try to emphasize again, because I think we are really either talking past each other here or there is just not an…”

“I will try to emphasize again, because I think we are really either talking past each other here or there is just not an awareness of what is in the bill--there are no protections for the tobacco companies. There is no protection. None. Zero protection. There is no such thing as a lot of immunity in this bill. There is no immunity in this bill. None. Zero immunity. The tobacco companies will be liable to lawsuits under any circumstances. Whether they play in the tent or they are out of the tent, they are liable for lawsuits. The only distinction here is, if those lawsuits are successful, how much will they be required to pay out in 1 year? That is the only thing that is contained here that is some kind of a limitation. Instead of being required conceivably to pay out $20 billion in 1 year and go bankrupt so you have no payments to kids, there is a limitation of $8 billion.”