Senate Near Deal On Asbestos Trust Fund

By Arthur D. Postal and Matt Brady, Washington Bureau

NU Online News Service, April 12, 7 :33 p.m. EST?An agreement on asbestos injury litigation legislation creating a trust fund for victims, that is disliked by the insurance industry, but which could speed through the Congress with bipartisan and presidential support, appears imminent.[@@]

According to various insurance industry, business and congressional sources, the deal will call for creation of a $140 billion trust fund with the authority to borrow $20 billion against the fund.

Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, confirmed such a deal at a press conference this afternoon. "I still do not have the final results until senators take a look at it, but I'm more than hopeful, I'm optimistic we'll have a bill which will get out of committee and beyond," Sen. Specter said

At the same time, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., ranking minority member of the committee and a key negotiator, said, "I think that we are very, very close to a bill that Senator Specter and I will both support ?The question will be the number of people from both our parties who will be able to join us in the legislation.

Support for Sen. Specter was also voiced by a key Republican, Texas Sen. John Coryn. "I for one am pleased with the direction it's been heading," he said.

Sen. Coryn, also a member of the Judiciary Committee, was named by Senate Majority Leader William Frist, R-Tenn., to serve as a liaison between Sen. Frist and Sen. Specter.

Later, a staff official of the American Insurance Association, which has taken the lead in coordinating insurance industry response to the proposal, said they could not comment at this time noting, "We have just received our copy of the draft and we are looking it over. It's more than 300 pages.

"I think that we are very close to a deal," Sen. Specter said earlier in the day. "There are meetings this afternoon at 2 p.m. going over a couple of items which are still outstanding, and then there's a meeting at four o'clock among Republicans. We had a meeting yesterday among Democrats."

Sen. Specter said, "We circulated the bill for the first time this morning; there was a tremendous amount of negotiations to come to the specifics on the bill, and the bill now is in written form and has been circulated."

He explained that "it's a little hard to get co-sponsors until you have the bill
in writing, and it's a voluminous bill, so it's going to take a little time for people to read it."

The insurance industry has been lobbying, with the support of certain companies targeted by asbestos injury class actions, since December to kill a deal based on the fact that a settlement by the Halliburton company and other agreements had put the worst behind the industry, and that, based on that information, creation of a $140 billion trust fund would be excessive.

The insurance industry and defendant companies had recently put their lobbying efforts behind a medical criteria bill. Utah Republican Rep. Chris Cannon said recently he is drafting such a bill and soliciting co-sponsors.

According to sources, the bill discussed by Sen. Specter also calls for a reversion of all claims to the tort system if the money runs out, a key concern of the insurance industry. However, the revised bill will have some venue limitations even though it will allow claims to revert to either federal or state courts. Key provisions require a case can be heard in a court located in a jurisdiction where the claimant is a resident or the defendant is based or the injury occurred.

A key point in the measure which brings Republican support, especially from the White House, is a provision limiting attorney's fees to five percent for base claims and 10 percent on appeals.

The bill also bars payments to workers exposed to asbestos, but exhibiting no symptoms other than lung cancer. Insurers, other businesses and conservative committee members had pushed for this provision. Sources said, in a concession to Democrats and organized labor, the bill also calls for accelerated handling of claims for mesothelioma victims and others faced with terminal illness.

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Senate Near Deal On Asbestos Trust Fund

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