It's Brian Lehrer, and this is my daily politics podcast from WNYC Studios.

It's Wednesday, April 29th.

Our word of the day this morning is liability.

Our word of the day tomorrow might be strike. Here's why. New York,

New Jersey, and many other states, some with Republican governors, are trying to get Senate Majority

Leader Mitch McConnell to approve federal aid to help ease the crushing deficits that state and local governments are

starting to face because of coronavirus expenses in the face of crashing tax revenues.

McConnell has called the idea a blue state bailout.

But yesterday, he cracked the door open to a deal.

Now, McConnell's Senate majority might consider aid to state and local governments in exchange

for liability protection for businesses.

That is, companies that reopen their workplaces would be immune, not from the virus, but

from lawsuits, even if they fail to take basic steps to protect

their workers or their customers. Aide to local governments in exchange for immunity from liability

for businesses. McConnell was on Fox yesterday afternoon and the host, Neil Cavuto,

asked McConnell the essential question regarding the essential workers.

Here's that exchange.

We have a red line on liability.

It won't pass the Senate without it.

So what would happen, though, Senator, of a business feeling that it is emboldened by liability protection,

that it doesn't do some basic things like masks and other protections for workers,

because it might feel that it's legally bulletproof and doesn't have to.

...