Washington–The Senate agreed last night to take up legislation that would move settlement of asbestos claims out of the tort system–at least temporarily–setting the stage for a lengthy debate today for which the Senate leadership has set aside up to two weeks.
The bill was approved for debate after Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., dropped his opposition for consideration. “Now that we've spent some time focusing on the flaws in the bill, now's the time to begin the debate,” a spokesman for Sen. Reid said several hours before a scheduled vote on the motion to proceed requested by Sen. Reid.
An insurance industry lawyer who asked that his name not be used said Sen. Reid dropped his objection to consideration of the bill after finding he had only 35 of the 41 votes needed to block action on the bill.
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