On the recordMay 11, 2021
listening to my friend, the Democratic whip, reminds me that there is one type of business that my Democratic friends always support, and that is the lawsuit business. As he pointed out, about half of the States have taken steps to protect their citizens from frivolous litigation and other litigation that would arise out of their good-faith following of the guidelines laid down by the CDC, the Centers for Disease Control. That is what we proposed here in the Senate. And my friend's, the Senator from Illinois's view did prevail because I found out that there is one--the most powerful lobby here in Washington, DC, is the trial bar, and, unfortunately, it is not just big corporations. I am sure big companies can take care of themselves. They have got lawyers; they have got compliance officers; and they have got people who can help them figure out how to deal with the pandemic. It is the mom-and-pop businesses, the music venues, the houses of worship, the schools, and the universities--those were the ones that were reluctant to reopen, even complying with the CDC guidelines, because they were afraid of being sued into oblivion. So my colleague's views did prevail here in the Senate, unfortunately, but, thankfully, States like mine--Texas is currently in legislative session taking appropriate steps to avoid this sort of frivolous litigation, which will be like a wet blanket on our economic recovery and on job creation.…
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