Dianne Feinstein: “I rise to speak on the asbestos bill and to indicate my support for the cloture motion which will be voted on at 6…”

“I rise to speak on the asbestos bill and to indicate my support for the cloture motion which will be voted on at 6 o'clock this afternoon. For over 15 years now, believe it or not, the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly urged Congress to create a solution to this asbestos crisis. In 1997, in a case called Amchen Products v. Windsor, Justice Ginsburg wrote this: The argument is sensibly made that a nationwide administrative claims processing regime would provide the most secure, fair, and efficient means of compensating victims of asbestos exposure. This is exactly what we are trying to do in this effort. It is true it is not easy to do. It is true it has taken many years of hearings in the Judiciary Committee, and it is true efforts to draft this legislation have been ongoing for many years, but I would like to take this opportunity to commend the chairman and ranking member of our committee, Senator Specter and Senator Leahy, for their tireless efforts to develop a true bipartisan compromise, and I know it hasn't been easy. Before discussing the specifics of this legislation, I think it is important to remember what has brought us here and why so many of us have spent hundreds of hours working through the complex issues in trying to develop a no-fault administrative solution. As has been stated, the pivotal question before this body is, Will a victim be better off in a trust fund, or will they be better off in the tort system?…”