Pueblo Chieftain, Peter Roper
Published February 9, 2006
A fight over how to compensate asbestos workers who contracted cancer and other debilitating illnesses from the fiber has moved to the Senate, where asbestos companies are hoping to establish a $140 billion compensation fund in exchange for an end to worker lawsuits.
Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., is the prime sponsor of the measure, which the Senate agreed to consider this week. Specter argued that all of the $140 billion will come from industry, not taxpayers, and bring an end to decades of litigation over asbestos claims.
That isn't what some victims want, though.
Deanie Pate, a Pueblo native who lives in Denver, told reporters this week that her father, Ted Pate, is in the last stages of mesothelioma - a cancer caused by asbestos in the lungs - and that Specter's legislation gives manufacturers an easy way out.
"My family will get some compensation either way, but the money isn't the issue," Deanie Pate said Wednesday. "For me, these companies are criminals. They knew for a long time what asbestos did to people and I think the families who suffered are entitled to their day in court."
Her father, who is 65, is a former steel worker at the CF&I steel mill who also worked in construction, where he cut asbestos pipe.
Opponents of the Specter legislation include the Environmental Working Group, AFL-CIO and the Sierra Club. They do not want the ban on future lawsuits that would come with the establishment of the compensation fund.
Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., supports the legislation, while Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., has not made a commitment. He was skeptical this week, though, that taxpayers would not ultimately be handed the cost of compensation.
Under the Specter legislation, asbestos exposure victims could receive up to $1 million in settlement. For example, if fully funded, the $140 billion trust fund could provide 140,000 maximum settlements. The trust fund would be overseen by the U.S. Department of Labor.
