Russ Feingold: “I wish to speak about S. 852, the so- called Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act of 2005. Because this…”

“I wish to speak about S. 852, the so- called Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act of 2005. Because this legislation does not provide fairness for asbestos victims or small businesses, I oppose it. We need to take more time to address the problems with this bill and work to produce a result that is fair to all parties involved. At the outset, I commend my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who have been working for years to develop a bill that addresses this issue appropriately. There is no doubt that this is one of the most difficult and complicated issues that the Judiciary Committee and the Senate have dealt with in recent years. Both last year, and in 2003, the Judiciary Committee spent weeks and weeks marking up legislation. In both cases, the end result was not satisfactory. But this was not because of lack of effort on the part of the Senators who want to find a solution. Unfortunately, the solution this bill provides is badly flawed. This bill simply is not ready for floor consideration. That, if nothing else, is evident from the managers' package or substitute that will include over 40 significant changes to the bill. When the managers of a bill are still working on a managers' package with that many changes, before many amendments have even been offered, the only conclusion to be drawn is that the bill is not ready for the floor.…”