Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), with McConnell's support, has proposed a plan which would prohibit states from hearing COVID-19-exposure business liability claims through 2024, imposing a one-year statute of limitations, and requiring plaintiffs to provide "clear and convincing evidence" that the exposure was the result of "gross negligence or willful misconduct" of the defendant. Such protections are opposed by Pelosi and many members of her caucus, the AFL–CIO union federation, a host of trial lawyers, and Public Citizen executive Lisa Gilbert, who argues: "The reason that [McConnell] has been so intent on this is that this is a pre-COVID priority for the big business lobby. They've been trying to find a way to get off the hook when they endanger workers, consumers, patients for many, many years [and this is a] self-serving opportunity moment for them ... in the context of COVID."
