Labor asks U.S. senators to oppose asbestos bill

Reuters, Susan Cornwell
Published March 11, 2004

WASHINGTON — Organized labor blasted a bill on Wednesday to reform the asbestos litigation system as "grossly deficient" and urged U.S. senators to oppose it if Republican leaders bring it to the floor soon, as they have pledged to do. In a letter to all senators, the AFL-CIO said the proposal would "provide a huge bailout" for asbestos defendants like oilfield services giant Halliburton Co. — which has a pending $4.3 billion asbestos settlement — while shortchanging victims who have been injured by the fire-proofing mineral. The $114 billion the bill would provide for asbestos victims was inadequate to cover claims and might even be ephemeral, since no one had listed the companies that would pay, the letter from AFL-CIO Director William Samuel said. While the AFL-CIO was still trying to resolve some of its problems with the bill through negotiation, it opposed forcing the matter onto the Senate floor, Samuel wrote. "The bill ... is still grossly deficient," he said. "Resolution will not be achieved by 'splitting the difference.' Rather it can only be achieved by spending the necessary time to develop solutions that are sound, workable and fair. Pushing legislation to the floor on an arbitrary schedule before these issues can be adequately addressed would not be constructive," Samuel said. Senate Republican Leader Bill Frist said recently progress has been made on asbestos issue, and he planned to bring legislation to the Senate floor in late March or early April. A spokeswoman said Wednesday that Frist felt strongly that passage of the legislation was key to getting adequate compensation to victims and retaining jobs, and that he would keep working to reach agreement with all parties. Frist Wants AFL-CIO to Cooperate "He (Frist) hopes the AFL-CIO will move forward in a cooperative fashion, offering solutions instead of excuses," the spokeswoman said. The measure the Senate has been working on since last year, by Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch, would end asbestos lawsuits and replace them with a victims' fund supported by asbestos companies and insurers. It passed out of committee last summer but then stalled, and Frist has been trying to jump-start it ever since. Hatch said recently he would like to have a two- or three-day marathon of talks with interested senators to try to work out the differences that remain on asbestos. Asbestos was widely used for fireproofing and insulation until the 1970s. Scientists say that inhaled fibers are linked to cancer and other diseases. Samuel wrote that an estimated 10,000 people died of asbestos-related diseases last year. Samuel noted some progress, saying that in talks with business and insurance groups, labor agreed on a proposed compensation system to be managed by the Department of Labor. But he complained that the Bush administration had done nothing to provide technical assistance from the Department of Labor on the administrative issues. "Moreover, even the inadequate funding supposedly provided for in the reported bill could well prove to be illusory," Samuel said. "Because the defendants and insurers have refused to disclose the identities of the companies that they claim would be contributing to the fund and the amounts of those companies' contributions, there is no way of verifying that the funding formula set forth in the bill will in fact produce the amounts it purports to raise," he wrote.