Arlen Specter: “A third item of Judiciary Committee scheduling involves the asbestos reform bill. The leader has stated his intention to…”

“A third item of Judiciary Committee scheduling involves the asbestos reform bill. The leader has stated his intention to bring it up on February 6. As we customarily do, we meet in the afternoon. I intend to absent myself from the Judiciary Committee hearing on NSA to come make an opening statement. Then we will proceed on that bill. Senator Leahy and I sent a letter yesterday to our colleagues asking that, if there are amendments to be offered, and I am sure there will be, that they be provided to the managers in advance so we can organize proceeding on the bill and seek time agreements. That has been a very difficult and contentious issue, but it was passed out of the committee last year after numerous executive sessions marking up the bill and extended debate on a variety of amendments. Many were accepted, some were rejected. The Supreme Court of the United States has called upon Congress to address this issue. It does not lend itself to a solution in the courts on class actions. There are thousands of people who are suffering from the injuries of asbestos--mesothelioma, which is deadly, and asbestosis, and others--who cannot recover because their employers are bankrupt. Over 75 companies have gone bankrupt, and more are threatened with bankruptcy. The bill which we have reported to the floor is the product of enormous effort and enormous analysis by the Judiciary Committee and beyond. It was voted out of committee 13 to 5.…”