Bobby Scott: “I would like to see a list of people who have been injured by negligence, victims of discrimination, victims of…”

“I would like to see a list of people who have been injured by negligence, victims of discrimination, victims of violations of labor law. Let us get some of those to see what they think about it. Mr. Speaker, as I said, we have immunized the volunteers, so in terms of running the organization, the volunteers have been immunized. A lot of places do not have problems with insurance. This mandates there is a blanket for everybody, State, local, everybody else, whether there are insurance problems or not. We hear so much from the other side about States rights. Well, here we are, whether there is a problem in the State or not, here we come with a Federal mandate changing all their tort laws. Whether or not you disagree or agree with the Americans for Disabilities Act, or whether you agree or disagree with civil rights laws or labor laws, people ought to have the right to bring these cases in appropriate circumstances. Otherwise, the agency has no responsibility in any of these areas. Now, accidents happen. We are not talking about accidents. What we are talking about is when an organization violates good common sense and someone is injured as a direct result of negligence. Should there be a recourse? Who should be responsible for the damage?”