Efforts are underway by Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., to resuscitate his asbestos legislation by modifying it in hopes of winning the 60 votes needed to keep it alive.
Lobbyists say Sen. Specter plans to bring a "new bill" directly to the Senate floor from the Senate Judiciary Committee as early as this week, when Congress returns from a 10-day recess, under an arcane parliamentary procedure known as Senate Rule 14.
To win the three votes the industry believes he needs to get to 60 and overcome the budget point of order that doomed the bill on Feb. 14, Sen. Specter is making some unspecified modifications.
Privately, industry officials and lobbyists doubt Sen. Specter's new game plan will work because it would still be subject not only to a budget point of order, but also to a filibuster. Moreover, Sen. Specter has as yet failed to persuade Sen. William Frist, R-Tenn., the Senate majority leader, that he has the votes to get his bill through, lobbyists say. Sen. Frist must approve floor time for the asbestos bill to start the process.
Representatives of Sen. Specter declined to confirm the new initiative, but several lobbyists said last week that aides to the senator had discussed the plan with interested groups.
Sen. Specter's legislation would create a $140 billion trust fund to compensate people for exposure to asbestos in the workplace. The fund would be financed by contributions from defendants and insurers over a 27.5-year period.
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