Oil and gas, plastics, and utilities are among the industries lobbying hard for a federal shield from COVID-19-related lawsuits. According to a Friends of the Earth review of quarterly earnings statements, firms actively pressing Congress for the waiver include ExxonMobil and ConocoPhilips; trade groups such as the American Petroleum Institute and the Petroleum Marketers Association of America; and “conservative dark money” groups such as FreedomWorks. The Hill reported on July 31 that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is determined to get a liability waiver into whatever the next pandemic aid bill may be. Back in March, the Senate’s committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs inserted a liability waiver for energy and transportation companies, among others, into the CARES Act, but the language had vanished by March 25, when the Senate passed the legislation. Status: The House of Representatives passed a $3 trillion-plus package of new pandemic aid on May 15, but it’s not clear if or when the Senate will take it up.
