Chris Dodd: “I thought it important before we leave on this break to express to our colleagues that we are working very hard to come…”

“I thought it important before we leave on this break to express to our colleagues that we are working very hard to come up with a compromise proposal on the asbestos issue. We have taken major steps in that direction, working with organized labor, with the insurance industry, with the insured, and many others that have a stakeholding in the outcome of this particular effort. It is a critically important effort. We say to those out there wondering whether or not we will be able to get a bill, we believe we will. It will take time. It is hard work to pull this together properly. It is a lot of detailed work that needs to be done. We thought it was important to send a message to those interested in the subject matter that we are confident it can be done. We will have to work very hard in the coming days, particularly over this break, to try to resolve the differences that exist, and they are not insignificant.”