Blake Farenthold: “Clearly there are two groups of individuals who we are not fearful will commit fraud. It is our Nation's veterans and…”

“Clearly there are two groups of individuals who we are not fearful will commit fraud. It is our Nation's veterans and servicemembers. At the same time, there is no reason to distinguish between the disclosure obligation of veteran servicemembers and the disclosure obligations of ordinary citizens. This FACT Act provision is designed to protect veterans from fraud and make sure our future veterans who are exposed and other people who are exposed in their jobs to asbestos have the resources available because the company that actually made the asbestos is most likely bankrupt and out of business now. There are finite resources in these trusts, and we owe it to our servicemembers and to future victims of asbestosis or mesothelioma to make sure there is money there to take care of their medical bills and compensate them for the injuries. That is the purpose of the FACT Act portion of this bill. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.”