John Cornyn: “I would say to our colleague from Vermont, I have no problem with providing assistance, whether it is to public health…”

“I would say to our colleague from Vermont, I have no problem with providing assistance, whether it is to public health officials who are trying to struggle with this pandemic or to provide money for research for the therapeutics or vaccines which, fortunately, are now being distributed around the country. I have no objection to direct payments to individuals. I voted for the $1,200 direct payments contained in the CARES Act. I voted for the additional money that is provided for in the most recent COVID-19 legislation. But this legislation that the Senator from Vermont is advocating would benefit households with annual incomes of over $350,000. They would get this money. I would say that one way to deal with this--because, of course, we negotiated back and forth on the last COVID-19 bill, and nobody got everything they wanted--but if our colleagues on the other side of the aisle want an additional financial benefit for people making up to $350,000, why not couple it with liability protection for people who are acting in good faith? This isn't just about corporations, and our colleagues across the aisle know it. This is about schools. This is about churches, synagogues, and mosques. This is about every business that is worried that a game of ``gotcha'' is going to take place and they are going to end up paying the price. Even if they win the lawsuit, they will still have to pay for the cost of defense, potentially losing their businesses outright.…”