Washington, DC, July 29--The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said on Thursday he had decided against seeking to subpoena companies facing asbestos lawsuits, backing off the threatened action for the second time in a month.
Sen. Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, denied he had floated the subpoena threat to press companies into providing information he wanted about how they would finance a proposed $140 billion asbestos victims' compensation fund.
"It was a sincere thought at the time it was articulated," Specter told reporters of the subpoena threat.
On Monday, Specter announced to the committee's assembled staff that he and the panel's ranking Democrat, Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, would ask the committee on Thursday for authority to subpoena the data from companies.
Financing is one of the thornier issues Specter and Leahy need to resolve as they try to build support for their legislation to create an asbestos compensation fund. Some senators say they cannot support the measure unless they know which companies would pay what amounts.
But Specter and Leahy did not mention the subpoena at Thursday's committee meeting, and Specter told reporters afterwards they had decided against pursuing it. "We think we can get more results with a carrot than a stick," he said.
"Nothing specific happened" to change his mind, he added, but did not say whether he had gotten any of the information he sought another way.
Leahy, also speaking briefly to reporters, said he was following Specter's guidance on the matter. "If we issue the subpoena we'd be doing it jointly, and we'll do it when necessary. I'll follow his lead," he said.
Asbestos was widely used for fireproofing and insulation until the 1970s. Its fibers have been linked to cancer, and injury claims have bankrupted dozens of U.S. companies.
Specter and Leahy's bill, approved by the Judiciary Committee in May, would halt the lawsuits. Instead, claims would be paid from the $140 billion fund to be financed by companies facing the suits, and their insurers.
Although the bill has a formula for industry contributions, based on a company's size and prior asbestos expenditures, many companies have been reluctant to say how it would affect them and what they would expect to pay. They argue that if the information becomes public before the bill is passed, it could subject them to more asbestos lawsuits.
Toward the end of June, Specter also mentioned a possible subpoena of the company data, but backed away the same day.
Amid questions over how much support the asbestos fund legislation has in either party, the Senate leadership has postponed bringing it the chamber's floor.
