[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 119 (Wednesday, September 21, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10301-S10302]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ENZI (for himself and Mr. Kennedy):
  S. 1745. A bill to expand the availability of resources under the 
Community Services Block Grant Act for individuals affected by 
Hurricane Katrina; read the first time.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, it is an honor to join Senator Enzi in 
introducing the Community Services Disaster Assistance Act.
  The bill contains additional support for State Community Service 
Block Grant offices, and community action agencies. Community Service 
Block Grant agencies provide low-income communities with the support 
they need to achieve self-sufficiency on a daily basis. Their programs 
and services include literacy, child health care, afterschool 
activities, low-income housing development, food stamps, and emergency 
shelter assistance.
  In the days after Hurricane Katrina, these agencies have been on the 
front lines. According to the National Association of State Community 
Service Programs, 32 States and their community action agencies have 
assisted over 65,000 evacuees. In this time of massive crisis, these 
agencies have been indispensable.
  This bill will help the State offices and agencies continue their 
amazing work. Community action agencies are already able to receive 
emergency funds from FEMA, and this bill expresses the sense of the 
Senate that emergency assistance should be made available immediately.
  The bill also authorizes State offices to transfer a portion of their 
funds for Community Service Block Grant administration or discretionary 
programs to the Gulf Coast States. Offices that wish to provide 
monetary support will be able to do so.
  The bill establishes a temporary income eligibility waiver for 
services funded by Community Services Block Grants in places designated 
as disaster areas. Evacuees will not have to worry about having the 
right paperwork ready, they will receive the services they need exactly 
when they need it.
  The bill also permits agencies and State offices to send their staff 
to federally designated disaster areas in other parts of the same State 
or in other states to provide disaster assistance.
  Support for this emergency work is more important today than ever. 
The States hit hardest by the Hurricane and flood were also some of the 
poorest. We in Congress have a responsibility to do all we can to help 
these States rebuild and thrive again. Passing this bill is a needed 
early step because it provides urgently needed assistance to invaluable 
community service organizations, and I urge my colleagues to approve 
it.
  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce new legislation, 
titled the Good Samaritan Liability Improvement and Volunteer 
Encouragement, or ``GIVE'' Act of 2005. I introduce this legislation to 
ensure that, as we continue to cope with the aftermath of Hurricane 
Katrina, that one of our country's greatest assets--the willingness of 
the American people to give to their neighbors in need--is not 
inhibited by one of its greatest liabilities--a broken civil justice 
system.
  In addition, I will take a few moments to remind my colleagues of 
legislation that I introduced just before the August recess: the 
Respirator Access Assurance Act of 2005. This legislation is of even 
greater importance in the wake of Hurricane Katrina--its passage would 
help to ensure that the thousands of workers, volunteers, and citizens 
of New Orleans working to restore that great city have the necessary 
protection to sift through the clean-up.
  From its beginning, the United States has been a generous nation. 
Indeed, in commenting on his observations of America in 1831, French 
historian Alexis de Tocqueville praised Americans for voluntarily 
assisting their neighbors during times of need. He noted, ``When an 
American asks for the cooperation of his fellow citizens, it is seldom 
refused; and I have often seen it afforded spontaneously, and with 
great good will.''
  Since that time, America has continued to grow into an ever-more 
generous nation. As measured by financial contributions, giving by 
Americans is at an all-time high. According to the Giving USA 
Foundation, philanthropic donations totaled almost $250 billion in 2004 
and represented a 5 percent increase over the previous year. The chair 
of Giving USA notes that ``about 70 to 80 percent of Americans 
contribute annually to at least one charity.''
  Financial contributions are infinitely valuable. But, as we all know, 
the value of the gift of time cannot be underestimated. Each and every 
year, millions of Americans volunteer their time and their personal 
services to charity. Americans volunteer in soup kitchens, schools, and 
health clinics, devoting countless hours to assist others.
  And in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, we have seen this charitable 
spirit shine brighter than ever. In the short time since Katrina hit 
the Gulf Coast, Americans have given more than $600 million to disaster 
relief efforts. Millions of Americans have sent money, donated food, 
sent needed tools and equipment, given clothing, volunteered medical or 
other services, and otherwise helped in whatever manner they could.
  Perhaps most heartwarming of all, thousands of Americans have opened 
their homes to those who lost everything. I am particularly proud of my 
home State of Texas--where more than

[[Page S10302]]

250,000 of our neighbors sought shelter--and where virtually all of 
them have been able to find it.
  But just as America enjoys a culture of giving and volunteering, she 
also faces a culture of litigation. And this ``sue first, ask questions 
later'' culture has produced an environment of fear that often gives 
pause to some people who would otherwise wish to extend a helping hand.
  As Common Good co-founder and chair, Philip Howard pointed out in 
hearings before the House Judiciary Committee in June of 2004, ``[w]hat 
we have found is that, in dealings throughout society, Americans no 
longer feel free to act on their reasonable judgment. The reason is 
that they no longer trust our system of justice. . . No part of society 
is immune. Playgrounds have been stripped of anything athletic. Even 
seesaws are disappearing because town councils can't afford to be sued 
if someone breaks an ankle. . . There is a missing link in American 
justice--rulings on who can sue for what.''
  Unfortunately, volunteers and non-profits face this question every 
day. To what degree should people volunteering services or providing 
needed equipment and supplies be forced to choose between lending a 
helping hand or facing the specter of litigation? And, should non-
profit organizations such as the Red Cross and the Salvation Army 
struggle to find appropriate housing for evacuees due to liability 
concerns?
  In an attempt to respond to these concerns, 8 years ago the late 
Senator Paul Coverdell sponsored and successfully worked to enact the 
Volunteer Protection Act of 1997--legislation that protects volunteers 
from many frivolous lawsuits. However, as helpful and well-intentioned 
as this legislation was, more needs to be done to sufficiently protect 
all those lending a hand to those in need.
  Consider, for example: Early this year, a jury in Milwaukee found the 
Catholic Archdiocese liable because a volunteer for a Catholic lay 
organization, driving her own car, ran a red light and caused an 
accident while delivering a statue of the Virgin Mary to an invalid 
person. Although the church does not direct the activities of this 
group, called the Legion of Mary, its meetings are held on church 
property. The jury decided the Archdiocese should pay $17 million to 
the paralyzed victim, an 82-year-old semi-retired barber.
  In response to Hurricane Katrina, the Red Cross and the Salvation 
Army are unable to coordinate efforts to set up emergency housing in 
private homes for evacuees because of liability issues.
  In the midst of administering chest compressions to a dying woman 
several days after Hurricane Katrina struck, Dr. Mark N. Perlmutter was 
ordered to stop by a federal official because he wasn't registered with 
the Federal Emergency Management Agency. ``I begged him to let me 
continue,'' said Perlmutter, who left his home and practice as an 
orthopedic surgeon in Pennsylvania to come to Louisiana and volunteer 
to care for hurricane victims. ``People were dying, and I was the only 
doctor on the tarmac where scores of non-responsive patients lay on 
stretchers. Two patients died in front of me . . . I asked him to let 
me stay until I was replaced by another doctor, but he refused. He said 
he was afraid of being sued.''

  So, today, even as volunteers, businesses, and non-profit 
organizations across the Nation are working to return New Orleans and 
the gulf coast region to something close to normal--I feel it is 
crucial to ensure that those volunteers are protected from needless and 
frivolous litigation.
  That's why I am introducing today--and am proud to be joined by 
Senators Hutchison, Vitter, Lott, Grassley and Thune--the Good 
Samaritan Liability Improvement and Volunteer Encouragement, or GIVE 
Act of 2005.
  The legislation offers a comprehensive solution to the fear of 
litigation that unnecessarily burdens volunteers and often prevents the 
provision of necessary goods and services to those in need. It will 
provide protection for volunteers across the Nation, particularly those 
working in response to national disasters such as 9/11 or Hurricane 
Katrina. More specifically, the GIVE Act will provide that: Disaster 
relief volunteers, generally, are not liable for harm caused in 
carrying out their volunteer activities in connection with disaster 
relief, unless their act or omission constitutes willful, knowing or 
reckless misconduct; medical and other professionals can volunteer 
their services for disaster relief services based on being licensed in 
their home State regardless of where the declared disaster occurred; a 
disaster relief volunteer is protected from liability under the act 
even if the volunteer is not working for a specific non-profit 
organization; disaster relief volunteers can offer their services 
without subjecting their business partners or employers to liability; 
disaster relief volunteers are protected from punitive damages and non-
economic damages are apportioned according to percentage of fault; non-
profit organizations are not liable for the acts or omissions of their 
volunteers unless the organization has willfully disregarded or is 
recklessly indifferent to the safety of the individual harmed; all 
donors of goods or equipment--whether businesses, non-profits, or 
individuals--are not liable for harm caused by donating those items 
unless they acted with willful, knowing or reckless misconduct; and all 
litigation that proceeds despite any protections under this act or 
under the Volunteer Protection Act requires a high level of specificity 
and documentation in the claim and a review by a judge that the claim 
raises--as a matter of law--a genuine issue of material fact.
  I urge my colleagues to support these two pieces of legislation--
legislation designed to ensure that the fear of litigation that 
pervades our culture won't stand in the way of well-intentioned 
Americans trying to help their neighbors in need.
                                 ______