Press Room Home

May 26, 2005

Contact: Chris Mather
202-965-3500 x369
202-725-5252 (Cell)

Statement of Todd A. Smith
President, Association of Trial Lawyers of America

"Under-funded, Unfair, Unworkable, Unconstitutional"

“Senator Specter’s acknowledgment that he couldn’t pass the ‘perfect’ bill offers little solace to the mesothelioma victim who’ll die before he sees any help from the fundamentally flawed asbestos bailout bill approved by the Judiciary Committee.

“This bill is about as far from perfect as you can get. It’s under-funded, unfair, unworkable, and likely unconstitutional.

“While Senator Specter is to be commended for his efforts to consult with most interested parties, the end result is still a failure for victims. Every major asbestos victims organization opposes this bill. Who supports it? The corporate defendants – including the criminally indicted W.R. Grace and Co. – who knowingly poisoned their workers and the public with asbestos and would receive billions of dollars in liability relief are the only backers of this bill.

“And the only way even this slim majority in committee was cobbled together was by setting aside hard issues and consideration of dozens of controversial amendments that will result in weeks of controversy and contentious debate in the full Senate.”

According to ATLA, a few of the fundamental problems with the fund include:

• The fund is under-funded by at least $16 billion (according to the CBO) and possibly as much as $49 billion (analysis by asbestos claims expert Mark Peterson) or even $100 billion (Environmental Working Group). Bankruptcy of the fund and taxpayer bailout is likely.
  
  
• Every single similar government trust fund has failed.
  
  
• In its current form the fund will immediately be mired in litigation from existing asbestos trusts, insurance companies, small businesses, and the thousands of victims unfairly excluded from the fund.
  
  
• By moving all pending claims into the fund, the fund is guaranteed to have a huge backlog at startup.
  
  
• Victims with community exposure and 9/11 victims – even firefighters, police, and emergency workers – are barred from receiving any compensation. The disparity between their treatment and the treatment of similar victims in Libby, Montana is likely unconstitutional.
  
  
• There is no real sunset process for victims to return to the courts when the fund becomes bankrupt.
  
  
• While treating unfairly or shutting out those poisoned by asbestos, the companies that poisoned them – even the criminally indicted W.R. Grace and Co. – are rewarded with a multi-billion dollar bailout.