Senators on Friday said efforts to reach a compromise on liability protection language have failed to make significant progress, putting a broader deal on a COVID-19 …
Senators on Friday said efforts to reach a compromise on liability protection language have failed to make significant progress, putting a broader deal on a COVID-19 relief package in peril. Senators familiar with the talks said that Democrats have rejected the latest Republican offer to create an 18-month federal shield on coronavirus litigation. Republican lawmakers say their latest offer was a significant concession after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) earlier this year called for a five-year period of liability protection for businesses, schools, health care providers and other organizations. “Durbin says that there’s no deal, it’s over,” said one Republican senator briefed on the talks, referring to Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). A second GOP senator blamed the impasse on trial lawyers, saying: “We heard this morning that the trial lawyers said no.” Moderate Democrats familiar with the talks on Friday acknowledged that reaching a deal on liability protection language is slipping away. “We have an eight-month impasse around liability issues and it’s proving extremely difficult to close it,” said Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.). Sen.
