Patrick Leahy: “I am disappointed my friends across the aisle are insisting on proceeding to this partisan asbestos bill. I say that…”

“I am disappointed my friends across the aisle are insisting on proceeding to this partisan asbestos bill. I say that because the legislation is not ready for prime time. It is not ready for floor consideration. I am one who believes the Senate should pass legislation to establish a national trust fund to compensate asbestos victims. Actually, I chaired the first Judiciary Committee hearing on this subject back in September of 2002. This bill would create a trust fund with unfair compensation, inadequate funding, no startup protections, delayed sunset provisions, and major solvency problems. Despite its title, this partisan bill is far from fair. It is a mistake for the Republican leadership to insist on proceeding to a bill with so many major problems still unresolved. Again, this bill is not ready for floor consideration. We did have a bipartisan dialog over the past year, and I hoped that would yield a fair and efficient compensation system we could in good conscience offer to those suffering today from asbestos-related diseases and also to those victims who we know are going to come in the future. Unfortunately, the Senate majority leadership decided to walk away from those negotiations and resort to unilateralism by introducing a partisan bill, and that is a shame.”