House lawmakers on Wednesday traded barbs over legislation that would shield a major quartz producer with links to President Donald Trump from a surge of lawsuits tied to workers contracting a deadly lung disease.
Republicans on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence and the Internet argued that H.R. 5347 from Rep. Tom McClintock of California would protect companies like Minnesota-based Cambria, a producer of engineered quartz facing more than 400 lawsuits.
“We don’t want to drive a $30 billion industry out of our country, which is where this thing is headed,” said Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.
GOP backers of the “Protection of Lawful Commerce in Stone Slab Products Act” argued the language would shield manufacturers and sellers of stone slabs from lawsuits brought by companies that alter the material and fail to follow federal safety guidelines to save money.
