Steve Cohen: “My amendment ensures that H.R. 982 will not apply to trusts that have an internal claims audit program to ensure that…”

“My amendment ensures that H.R. 982 will not apply to trusts that have an internal claims audit program to ensure that claims are valid and supported. Proponents of H.R. 982 argue that its reporting and other information-sharing requirements are necessary in order to ensure that asbestos victims are not committing fraud by recovering money both from trusts and through the tort system, thereby ``double dipping.'' While proponents of the bill have yet to point to any empirical evidence of endemic fraud within the asbestos trust claims process, H.R. 982, if enacted, will impose unnecessary burdens and costs on trusts and will expose claimants' private information to the unnecessary risk of inappropriate exposure, exposure that their loved ones have already suffered from. H.R. 982's additional requirements on trusts will raise their administrative costs significantly. Money used to pay these costs ultimately means less money to compensate asbestos victims. This is particularly problematic in light of the fact that defendants can already obtain the information they want using existing discovery tools without undermining compensation for legitimate claims. The reporting requirements in H.R. 982 also raise privacy concerns.…”