Max Baucus: “I rise today to speak to you again about a special place in my state, Libby, MT. It is important for my colleagues to…”

“I rise today to speak to you again about a special place in my state, Libby, MT. It is important for my colleagues to know that the vote on the budget point of order affects the lives of Libby residents dramatically. It affects the thousands of people who are sick and the hundreds more who will die. I ask my colleagues to vote on the merits of this bill. Budget points of order should not be misused. They should not impede consideration of this important legislation. The budget point of order should not be used to hurt the folks in Libby. They have suffered enough. The situation in Libby is unique. The asbestos in Libby is different. It is a much different asbestos than other parts of the country. It is much more pernicious. It is wicked, awful stuff. Libby is different because we are talking about community exposure to asbestos--not a few workers. The entire Libby community was exposed to asbestos because of the vermiculite mine and mill. Until the mid-1970s in Libby, W.R. Grace milled vermiculite from a mountain in Libby. W.R. Grace exposed the entire community to this deadly disease. I have been up there. I have been at that site. It is an unbelievably dusty mess. This asbestos bill will make W.R. Grace pay Libby residents for the intentional harm this company caused these people. I do not use the word ``intentional'' loosely because it was intentional. Documents show it was intentional.…”