Arlen Specter: “I am introducing a revised bill on asbestos reform, with the sponsorship of Senator Leahy. This is a subject which the…”

“I am introducing a revised bill on asbestos reform, with the sponsorship of Senator Leahy. This is a subject which the Senate had considered earlier this year, and it is one which I hope we will return to. To give impetus to that, I am introducing an amended version of the asbestos trust bill which makes very substantial improvements to satisfy interests and concerns raised by a number of Senators. The bill provides for a more prompt recovery for the sickest claimants; stronger medical criteria; preserves the ability of the bankruptcy trusts to continue paying impaired claims; has an improved allocation formula for well-insured and financially strapped defendant companies; and it has a tighter control on so-called leakage. Last Friday, we lost a great American judge, Judge Edward R. Becker, who made such an enormous contribution to the structuring of this asbestos reform legislation. He gave his own time, came to Washington at his own cost to preside over many meetings with the so-called stakeholders, the manufacturers, the trial lawyers, the AFL-CIO representing labor, and the insurance companies. He was working on this bill making calls to Senators right up until the time that prostate cancer took him a week ago today. When I gave him a report of our progress when it was obvious that the end was very near, he said, ``Win one for the Gipper.'' And we want to win one for the Gipper, for Judge Becker. We want to win this one for America.…”