[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 84 (Tuesday, June 10, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H5159-H5160]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                THE NEED FOR ASBESTOS LITIGATION REFORM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Feeney). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Kirk) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, in 48 hours Congress will face the single most 
important pending issue of legislation to help our economy. Does your 
401(k) look like mine? If so, it is due to the dot.com bust, the war, 
recession, and possibly even a little bit of Martha Stewart. But it is 
also due to another problem, and this problem is depressing the value 
of 900 stocks that form the bedrock of our retirement savings.
  The issue is asbestos liability reform. Really. We bankrupted 
asbestos makers like Johns Manville and U.S. Gypsum a long time ago, 
but lawsuits now reach out to many companies, most companies, who have 
had asbestos anywhere in their ceiling tiles, walls, or in the case of 
Sears Roebuck, in one washer and one iron sold between 1957 and 1958.
  Spending on the lawsuits might make sense if our justice system 
actually compensated victims suffering from asbestos poisoning. But, as 
the chart behind me shows, most asbestos awards go to lawyers' fees and 
court costs, and a minority actually goes to the lawsuit plaintiffs. Of 
the amount that goes to plaintiffs, only a small fraction goes to 
people who are actually suffering from asbestos poisoning.
  When you look at this situation, as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg did, 
you see a system crying out for reform. Amazingly, the American Bar 
Association has called for this liability reform.
  In this House, I introduced the Asbestos Compensation Act with 40 
cosponsors, and my colleague the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Cannon) 
introduced similar legislation. But in 2 days, our eyes will be on the 
Senate Judiciary Committee, who will take up this issue with Senator 
Leahy and Senator Hatch, and I think it is the best chance that we have 
to move a key piece of legislation forward to help our economy.

[[Page H5160]]

  We know that two-thirds of asbestos plaintiffs have no symptoms 
whatsoever and they are flooding the courts to protect their rights in 
case they get sick sometime in the future. Meanwhile, plaintiffs who 
are sick are left behind. This has been a key point that the trial bar 
representing actually injured plaintiffs has raised.
  But the financial uncertainty of asbestos liability is probably 
causing the greatest cost. Already 70 companies have gone into 
bankruptcy court, and there are approximately 900 publicly traded 
companies now facing asbestos lawsuits. If Congress does not act this 
year, we estimate 800 companies will go bankrupt over this issue. This, 
according to the National Economic Research Association and Rand 
Institute study, has cost Americans 60,000 jobs so far, and will cost 
423,000 jobs in the future.
  The system that we are under now has very uncertain results. Robert 
York has no symptoms and collected $1,200 in his asbestos lawsuit. Half 
went to his lawyer. William Sullivan had undefined asbestos exposure 
and collected $350,000, with his lawyer's contingency being 
undisclosed. Ken Ronnfeldt had exposure to asbestos and collected 
$2,500, half going to his lawyer; whereas Ron Huber, who had asbestos-
related illness, collected only $14,000, and is appealing, rightly, his 
case.
  I think the time is now for asbestos liability reform. I think this 
is a critical issue, not just to make sure that actual victims truly 
suffering consequences are compensated, but also that we remove this 
cloud of liability from America's companies that is depressing the 
value of the retirement savings of millions of Americans.
  The test comes in 2 days before the Senate Judiciary Committee. My 
hope is that we have a bipartisan agreement to move asbestos liability 
reform through the Senate, and then it will be time for the House to 
act.

                          ____________________