Asbestos Bill Deadline Set

By Steven Brostoff

NU Online News Service, March 24, 3:30 p.m.EST-- Washington--U.S. Senate Majority LeaderBill Frist, R-Tenn., has set a tentative deadline of April 19 toreach an agreement on asbestos litigation reform legislation andbring a bill to the floor.[@@]

The legislation, which is the subject of intense negotiationsamong labor unions, business groups and insurance companies,remains in limbo over disagreements on several major issues,including:

? The level of funding.

? What will happen if a trust fund which is supposed to resolveall asbestos-related claims runs out of money?

? How to compensate claimants whose injuries have multiplecauses.

? How the insurance industry's share of the trust fund will beallocated among insurance companies.

The goal is to establish a trust fund, financed by contributionsfrom defendants and insurers, to resolve asbestos-related claimsout of court.

Gary Karr, a representative of the Washington-based AmericanInsurance Association, said AIA remains hopeful that an agreementcan be reached. Every time a deadline has been established, eitherby Sen. Frist or Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch,R-Utah, work has been done and progress has been made, he said.

Mr. Karr noted, however, that there are still some significantbridges to cross.

Marliss Browder, federal affairs representative with theNational Association of Mutual Insurance Companies in Indianapolis,said NAMIC is cautiously optimistic that Sen. Frist has set adeadline. Without a deadline, she said, the process would continueto go on and on and on.

There are still issues that NAMIC is working with Senatestaffers to resolve, Ms. Browder added.

Anne Sittmann, a representative of the Des Plaines, Ill.-basedProperty Casualty Insurers Association of America, added: "PCIappreciates the Majority Leader offering to bring a bill to thefloor, if it can be done."