Sheila Jackson Lee: “Without having the ability to hear my colleague's opposition, I know that the supporters of this legislation will say…”

“Without having the ability to hear my colleague's opposition, I know that the supporters of this legislation will say that Bankruptcy Code section 107 will prevent these devastating results, but it is not true. This provision only permits it. It does not require the bankruptcy court to issue a protective order. My amendment protects these vulnerable victims against the release of their data, making them, in addition to the devastating disease that they got from asbestos--and our good friend Bruce Vento, many of us knew Congressman Vento, we knew his wife, and we knew that his death was both untimely and devastating, and now you are saying to victims like him: Release all the data. Open yourself up to more. Open your families up to more. The Jackson Lee amendment is a commonsense amendment that will provide for an asbestos trust report quarterly, an aggregate list of demands received and payments made. As well, it would protect the privacy of asbestos victim plaintiffs from overly broad and invasive disclosure requirements by striking down the bill's text about personal information disclosure mandates. No matter what my good friend from Texas says, he does not have an answer to protecting the privacy of these victims. I ask our colleagues to support a commonsense response. Stop it now. The courts don't want it, and it is horrible for the victims. It is doubling down on people who have lost loved ones and victims who are suffering from asbestos-induced cancer.…”