Political Quotes

“The current asbestos litigation system is broken, and it is clear that we in this Congress should fix it. We have an obligation, a real responsibility, to fix it. I would like to lay out what our plans are to resolve this asbestos litigation crisis early next year. We have made very good progress toward enacting Chairman Hatch's FAIR Act, which is the Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act. I have made it a personal priority that the Senate participate aggressively in resolving this challenging issue. Why do we call what is occurring today a crisis? First, the events that are occurring are overwhelming. The torrent of asbestos litigation has wreaked havoc on asbestos victims, on American jobs, and this havoc has extended into our economy. Over 600,000 claims have been filed and those 600,000 claims have already cost about $54 billion in settlements, judgments, and litigation costs. Yet even after 600,000 claims and $54 billion, the current asbestos tort system has become nothing more than a litigation lottery at this point in time.”