The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“FAIRNESS IN ASBESTOS INJURY RESOLUTION ACT” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Labor was published in the Senate section on pages S506 on Feb. 2, 2006.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
FAIRNESS IN ASBESTOS INJURY RESOLUTION ACT
Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I rise today to express my support for the Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act sponsored by Senators Specter and Leahy. The FAIR Act is a bill about American jobs. It will have a substantial effect on a number of jobs at Tennessee manufacturers such as Nissan, Saturn, and Eastman as well as hundreds of their Tennessee suppliers. That is because while it means faster, more efficient resolution of claims for those harmed by asbestos exposure, it also means certainty for manufacturers so that they can spend more of their money investing in their businesses and creating more American jobs.
Americans injured by asbestos are waiting too long and paying too much to adjudicate these claims. According to estimates from the RAND Institute, of the $70 billion expended on asbestos litigation through 2002, nearly 60 percent was spent on attorneys' fees and other transaction costs. Put another way, asbestos victims are only getting a little more than 40 cents of every dollar that is being paid out on asbestos claims. In addition, in many cases, these claimants are waiting more 3 years to collect this compensation as their cases wind their way through the tort system. As a result, many of these victims are not able to cover the costs of medical treatments that cannot be delayed. The FAIR Act will help claimants by capping attorneys' fees at 5 percent--and thereby putting 95 percent of the compensation paid out into the pockets of the victims. It will also ensure that victims get a ruling on their claim within 90 to 180 days from the Department of Labor--not 3 years or more.
Since the 1980s, the number of companies defending themselves from asbestos claims has risen from 300 to more than 8,400. More than 70 companies have gone bankrupt, resulting in more than 60,000 workers losing their jobs and retirees seeing their retirement funds shrink. In Tennessee, according to the 2002 Economic Census, more than 400,000 jobs are in the manufacturing sector. Without this bill, tens of thousands of those jobs may be shipped overseas as companies struggle to afford the enormous payouts that result under the current system.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has considered this issue for more than 20 years. Senator Specter and Senator Hatch before him held numerous meetings with stakeholders and members of the Judiciary Committee. The bill has gone through numerous revisions to accommodate issues raised by parties on all sides. Senator Specter and Senator Leahy have been cooperative, accommodating, flexible, and generous with their time. And they have produced a bill that has garnered support from a broad spectrum of manufacturers, insurers, and claimants.
The FAIR Act may not be perfect, but it will start us on the road toward achieving two critical goals: it allow people injured by asbestos to receive compensation quickly and efficiently, without spending years tied up in the courts and losing a large chunk of their award to attorneys' fees; and it will save jobs by giving American companies certainty with regard to the costs of compensating claimants.
I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.
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