In early May, negotiations over legislation to establish a national asbestos victim compensation trust fund were suspended. The talks, which were mediated by retired Federal Judge Edward Becker, had been initiated by Senate Republican Leader Bill Frist and Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle following the failure of a Republican-sponsored bill that would have created a privately financed fund of up to $124 billion. Democrats and labor groups had argued that the bill did not offer enough compensation for victims and would deny them their rights to sue.

Insurance industry representatives expressed disappointment that no resolution was achieved. “Unfortunately, the failure of these negotiations means that those most in need will remain uncompensated, American businesses will be subject to potentially devastating lawsuits, job creation in many businesses will be stifled, and abuse of the tort system will continue unabated,” said Carl Parks, senior vice president, federal government affairs for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America.

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