Quote of note:

Today, the Senate plans to take up a House-passed bill to protect gun manufacturers and dealers from lawsuits brought by victims of gun violence. A proposal to curb class-action lawsuits is also pending for Senate action soon.

Gun-control advocates plan to use the firearms liability measure, which is backed by the National Rifle Association, as a vehicle for votes on two of their top priorities: reauthorization of the 1994 ban on assault weapons, which expires later this year, and legislation to require unlicensed dealers to conduct speedy background checks at gun shows.

Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.), who voted against the assault weapons ban 10 years ago, is among three Republicans co-sponsoring the bill with Democrats this year. Warner said he believes the law has helped reduce crime while protecting gun owners more than he anticipated in 1994.

The outcome of the struggle over guns is unclear, according to senators on both sides of the issue.

Why should it be noted? Because it's buried in the middle of an article about a medical liability bill.

Medical Liability Curbs Blocked
Senate GOP's Bill Targeted OB-GYNs

By Helen Dewar
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 25, 2004; Page A04

Senate Republicans failed again yesterday to win approval for legislation limiting damages in medical malpractice lawsuits, even after adopting an approach that targeted only litigation involving obstetricians and gynecologists.

The largely party-line vote was 48 to 45 in favor of considering the legislation, 12 short of the 60 votes needed to cut off a Democratic-led filibuster against the measure. A broader measure that would have limited damages in all medical malpractice cases fell 11 votes short in July.

The bill is part of a broader drive by President Bush and other Republicans to overhaul the civil liability system, limiting the damage awards that trial lawyers can win against businesses. Today, the Senate plans to take up a House-passed bill to protect gun manufacturers and dealers from lawsuits brought by victims of gun violence. A proposal to curb class-action lawsuits is also pending for Senate action soon.

Gun-control advocates plan to use the firearms liability measure, which is backed by the National Rifle Association, as a vehicle for votes on two of their top priorities: reauthorization of the 1994 ban on assault weapons, which expires later this year, and legislation to require unlicensed dealers to conduct speedy background checks at gun shows.

Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.), who voted against the assault weapons ban 10 years ago, is among three Republicans co-sponsoring the bill with Democrats this year. Warner said he believes the law has helped reduce crime while protecting gun owners more than he anticipated in 1994.

The outcome of the struggle over guns is unclear, according to senators on both sides of the issue.

The malpractice issue also remained an open one, at least for Republicans, who planned to keep pounding on the subject for political as well as legislative reasons, even if they continue to lose.

Republicans made it clear they intend to keep bringing up the issue -- broadening the bill to include emergency room physicians and probably other specialties -- in the hope of building public pressure for approval of constraints on court-ordered damages.

They also said they intend to raise it as an issue in this fall's campaigns in an effort to portray Democrats as beholden to trial lawyers, an argument that could gain prominence if Sen. John Edwards (N.C.), a successful trial lawyer before being elected to the Senate, winds up on the Democrats' national ticket.

The malpractice bill, sponsored by Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.), with strong backing from Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), a physician, called for a $250,000 cap on damages for pain and suffering in cases involving obstetricians and gynecologists. In addition, it would have limited punitive damages to $250,000 or twice the amount of damages for wages, medical costs and other economic costs, whichever is greater. Liability for manufacturers of drugs and medical devices would be capped. Fees for lawyers who take cases on a contingency basis would also be limited.

In two days of debate on the bill, Republicans argued that malpractice awards are pushing up malpractice insurance premiums to the point where physicians are leaving their practices, endangering patients and driving up health care costs.

But Democrats argued that insurance companies are more responsible than malpractice awards for rising premiums and said women would be penalized more than anyone else by the damage limits.

In yesterday's vote, Maryland's senators voted to continue the filibuster while Virginia's senators voted to end it.