Of the of majority and minority. Duly noted. Madam president , president eisenhower once said farming looks mighty easy with a w pencil you are a thousand miles away from a cornfield. Those are wise words from a wise man. If youre trying to get a view of whats happening across america, you certainly cannot get a comprehensive picture, staying here in washington d. C. Or listening to the national media. Thats why whether youre working out of farmvillere highway bill or coronavirus bill i looked to my constituents for feedback and i know we all do the same. Since we first learned that evacuees from china would be headed to san antonio for 14 day quarantine, ive been in close contact with folks in texas starting with san antonio about the coronavirus. I have joined dozens if not a hundred or more videoconferences with groups covering every industry with shared honest perspective about how things are going, whats working, and what more is needed from congress. I spoke with nurses, hospitals miss traders about the need for additional personal Protection Equipment to protect our health care heroes. Ive spoken with researchers and scientists even as recentlys as today and the ongoing quest to develop vaccines andre treatments. And of course with farmers, ranchers, producers about their strobel with supply and reduced demand. With Small Business owners about the impact of this virus on their businesses, their workforce, and their communities. Their feedback has been invaluable to the work of the senate as we continue our mission to lead america through and eventually out of this crisis. The states across the country reopen their economies the light at the end of the tunnel is getting a little bit brighter. But there is still a whole lot of work that needs to be done. Yesterday i spoke with severalrm friends at the texas law suit reform in Justice League and other stakeholders about critical need for Liability Protection and our next piece of coronavirus reds legislation. We are already seeing that across america there is a wave of covid19 related lawsuits rolling in. Without action on our part there is genuine fear that these lawsuits could hurt the very people we need to be helping right now get through this week and the economy. One of the texans on the call talked about the vast challenges our healthcare workers have faced over the past several weeks. C hospital beds beginos piling up the strain on healthcare workers became a serious problem. Many states loosened restrictions to allow outofstate or retired physicians to join the fight on the front lines. Countless healthcare workers are being crosstrained or redeployed to help fill personnel shortages. You may see pediatricians caring for adults or anesthesiologists working in the icu. On top of that, these men and women are forced to make tough, almost impossible decisions every day. They may have half a dozen patients who desperately need a ventilator but only two machines available. We should not put our healthcare workers in an impossible situation where we ask them to do everything they can to help, and then we punish them by subjecting them to litigation when somebody claims they could or should have done better. It is just not healthcare workers thoughsi who coded come out of the crisis with being greeted by an avalanche of lawsuits. As our economy begins to reopen businesses or dusting off their tables, barber chairs, gym equipment, whatever the case may be prepared to welcome customers back to their doors. They are following the guidance from the states and center for Disease Control and taking every precaution they recommend to protect both their employees and their customers. But despite the best efforts there is nothing stopping someone who contracts the virus from saying it happened at that particular business and then suing. One of the people on the call yesterday said his businesses face many losses before it he knows even if youve done absolutely nothing wrong, defending these lawsuits can beoi a huge, huge expense. He pointed out that causation is a particular concern when you talk about a virus. We are still learning about it. We know the incubation period could take up to 14 days, making it nearly impossible to prove when and where the virus was contracted. While ordinarily it would be the burden of the person bringing suit to prove causation, we know in jury trials anything can happen. This is not enough to stop opportunistic litigation to try to get a successful jury verdict and judgment or just a nuisance settlement because of the cost of defense. Across the country we are already seeing coronavirus lawsuits rolling in, targeting not only are healthcare workers and businesses but Nursing Homes assisted living facilities, universities, governments, you name it. Without action from congress will be a big one and will addc. Insult to injury from this pandemic. We simply cannot allow this title wave of losses to sweep away our healthcare workers, nonprofits and businesses who followed the guidelines and acted in good faith. Congress needs to put in place commonsense reforms to protect those who have helped the American People get through this crisis a new who will help lead us out of it. I am working with my colleagues on a proposal that would achieve this goal are temporary and targeted protections related to covid19 lawsuits. That includes our healthcare workers who have been on the front lines, battling this pandemic. To businesses going to Great Lengths to safely reopen their doors to nonprofits helping their communities during this time of unprecedented need. Despite what some of the folks on the left try to claim, this is a ban on lawsuits, this toowing suggesting that blanketed immunity. No one wants to let bad actors get it with bad behavior and reward it. But as my constituents told me yesterday, the fear of unrestrained litigation could be the boots on the neck of our economy. Injury for healthcare workers and others who in good faith did precisely what they were asked to do during this time of crisis. We need to put commonsense safeguards in place to make sure those operating in good faith and following all of the relevant guidelines cannot be sued into oblivion because of a particular outcome. The people are doing the best they know how to do, during a a time of crisis in good faith in doing exactly what the Public Health officials and their government officials are telling them to do. This is going to be a critical aspect to our recovery. Not only in texas, but every state across the nation. We counted on all of these people from her healthcare workers to local businesses to help get us through this crisis. We cant let them down, now. Madame president , i yield the floor. And i note the absence of corporate. Thank you madame president i rise today to address the healthcare and economic crisis facing our nation because of covid19. Er according to Johns Hopkins university where the 1. 5 million americans have tested positive for covid and more than 90000 have died. 1509 West Virginians have tested positive for covid and 68 have died according to our state