Washington, DC, February 16, 2006--Republican Sen. Arlen Specter said on Wednesday the asbestos compensation bill he is co-sponsoring is "very much alive" and that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist told him there would be another vote on it.
The bill to create an industry-financed $140 billion fund to pay claims and end asbestos injury lawsuits lost a close procedural vote on Tuesday.
But a spokeswoman for Frist was more guarded about the prospects for another vote. "The leader will work with the (Judiciary Committee) chairman (Specter) as to how best to proceed," Frist spokeswoman Amy Call said.
Specter's legislation is backed by W.R. Grace and Co., USG Corp., and some of the 70 other companies pushed into bankruptcy by thousands of asbestos injury claims. However, some smaller companies oppose a compensation fund, fearing they could be forced to pay more into it than they would face in private lawsuits.
Asbestos, a fire-retardant fibrous mineral, was widely used in building insulation until the 1970s. Inhaling asbestos fibers has been linked to cancer and other diseases.
At a news conference, Specter said he spoke with Tennessee Republican Frist on Wednesday and "He (Frist) said he'd have another vote. He said he's looking forward to another vote."
But Specter, of Pennsylvania, said that would not occur "at least until after the recess" the Senate is taking next week.
"I consider asbestos to be very much alive," Specter said.
The 58-41 vote on Tuesday sustained an objection to the legislation on grounds that the fund could violate budget rules by forcing taxpayers to pick up some asbestos costs.
Specter and the legislation's co-sponsor, Vermont Democrat Patrick Leahy, needed 60 votes to beat the procedural hurdle.
Specter said they actually have 60 votes, because the one senator who was absent Tuesday, Hawaii Democrat Sen. Daniel Inouye, supports the bill. Frist changed his vote to "no" at the last minute to give himself the option, under Senate rules, of asking the Senate to reconsider.
But Specter acknowledged senators could change their minds. "Whenever you have a revote, you have a flexible situation."
A coalition of companies and insurers opposed to the trust fund bill called on the Senate to drop it. Lawmakers should instead adopt the House's approach of setting stricter medical standards for filing asbestos claims to weed out bogus suits and reduce the overall number of claims, the coalition said.
"The Senate now can, and should, jettison the flawed trust fund and work to send medical criteria legislation to the House of Representatives," said Tom O'Brien, chairman of the Coalition for Asbestos Reform, which includes engineering group Foster Wheeler Ltd and insurance giant American International Group.
Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn recently said he wants to introduce a medical criteria bill, and key Senate Democrats have expressed openness to working with him.
Rep. Chris Cannon, the Utah Republican who wrote the House bill, said he was waiting to see what the Senate did.
"I don't think anything will happen (in the House) until after the Senate does a bill, and then we will look at it here and decide what we can do," Cannon told Reuters. "And what we do here will be a medical criteria bill."
Shares of some companies with significant legal liabilities from asbestos claims fell sharply on Wednesday.
Owens Corning, a fiberglass insulation maker operating under bankruptcy protection, saw its stock sink $1.39 or 35.1 percent to $2.57 a share.
Grace's stock closed down 7.75 percent at $9.17 after trading as low as $8.69 on the New York Stock Exchange. USG Corp. closed down 3.22 percent at $84.81.
But shares of Foster Wheeler, which says it would pay more under a national fund, rose 38 cents to $4
