Washington, DC, Apr. 14--Though even its backers admit its chances of passage remain slim, U.S. Senate Republican leaders intend to bring an insurer-backed asbestos bill to the floor the week of April 19, a maneuver intended to highlight the connection between the bill's Democratic opponents and the trial lawyers who donate to their campaigns.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., announced the legislation's reappearance on the Senate's agenda before the full chamber the week of April 5. It is a revision of a bill submitted last year by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, but which was stalled by Senate Democrats, who have historically been linked with trial lawyers, whose incomes would be adversely affected by the bill, and by organized labor, who say the bill doesn't provide enough money to pay victims.
Hatch, speaking to the Senate after Frist's announcement, told his colleagues the bill is needed to stop "voracious personal-injury lawyers" who benefit from lawsuits. "In our lottery litigation system, juries award enormous damage to a special few," Hatch said. "Our system makes millionaires out of people who are not sick and never may become sick. Meanwhile, people who are truly sick receive nothing."
Insurers support the bill's reappearance, but still have concerns.
"The legislative language we have seen is encouraging, but proper execution of a trust fund is extremely complex," American Insurance Association President Robert Vagley said in a statement reacting to Frist's announcement. Several key issues, such as allocation, have yet to be settled, however, and a number of "vital improvements" are still needed, he said.
Still, Vagley urged the Senate to finish. "People who are truly sick from asbestos and the workers at companies caught in the ever-expanding litigation web all are waiting and hoping that Congress finishes their job this year."
Senate staffers say the bill will be brought to the floor the week of April 19, when Congress returns from its holiday break.
The asbestos bill would establish a fund to pay victims and end claims against companies and their insurers. Estimates of the fund range from $108 billion to $124 billion, with most discussions of the bill citing a $114 billion price tag. The bill does contain some hard numbers, however: Insurers' contributions to the fund are limited to $46.02 billion, while $57.5 billion would come from defendant companies, for a total of $103.52 billion.
The variance in the totals are due to additional amounts derived from investment income in the claims fund and other sources.
Insurance trade groups active in shaping the legislation, including the American Insurance Association, the Property Casualty Insurance Association of America and the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America, are keeping a close eye on the bill, especially since the allocation formulas--the process determining how much each party will pay--have yet to be finalized. Under the terms of the new bill, awards for victims would range from $1 million to those stricken with mesothelioma--lung tumors--down to $20,000 for people who have nonmalignant diseases that may not have been caused by asbestos exposure, such as asthma. The bill also includes provisions for a $10 billion contingency fund to be financed by defendant companies, not insurers, if the fund runs out of money decades from now. Claims will be processed by an office within the U.S. Department of Labor.
