CRITICS FEAR GOP GULF LIABILITY BILL MAY PROMPT CLEANUP WAIVERS

Language in a new House Judiciary Committee bill intended to shield disaster relief volunteers from litigation could provide sweeping liability exemptions for toxic waste site cleanups conducted by companies and EPA in the heavily industrialized Gulf Coast region, according to Democratic and other critics of the plan. But the business community, a strong proponent of the legislation, disputes that interpretation, and says the bill is intended to provide a uniform national system so volunteers will not be subject to lawsuits...