[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 46 (Monday, April 5, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S3628]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          ASBESTOS LITIGATION

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, this is a matter I have referred to on 
several occasions in the last several weeks. In fact, I referred to it 
last Friday; that matter being that we have an asbestos litigation 
crisis that is brewing today. It is a crisis we in Congress have a 
responsibility to fix. That is the assessment of the Supreme Court 
which on two occasions has in essence said the system is broken and 
Congress has the responsibility to fix it.
  I rise to reiterate my goal to resolve this asbestos litigation 
crisis and also to announce that we will file a revised bill later this 
week so people and all of our colleagues will have the opportunity to 
look at what is in the bill and study what is in the bill itself. We 
have made tremendous progress toward enacting Chairman Hatch's Fairness 
in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act; we call it the FAIR Act. I, as 
majority leader, have made all of this a personal priority in the sense 
that I want the Senate to be able to address and resolve this issue.
  Indeed, the magnitude of the asbestos litigation crisis is 
staggering. The torrent of asbestos litigation has wreaked havoc on 
victims, on American jobs, and indeed on our economy. The 600,000 
claims that have been filed have already cost $54 billion in 
settlements and judgments and litigation costs. And even with the 
billions already being spent, the asbestos tort system today has become 
nothing more than a litigation lottery. A few victims receive adequate 
compensation, but far more suffer long delays for unpredictable and 
indeed inequitable awards if they receive anything at all. It is a 
system today with only one real consistent winner, and that is the 
plaintiffs' trial lawyers, who, I should add, by the way, are taking 
home half of every dollar that is awarded to the victims.
  The system is broken. We have the responsibility--in fact this body, 
the Congress, has the obligation and the responsibility--to fix this 
broken system.
  As I mentioned, we will be introducing the revised bill later this 
week and giving Members substantial time to review the changes we are 
proposing that came out of the committee. We have made real progress 
toward closing the gaps that separated the insurers from the defendant 
companies, from organized labor. Chairman Hatch, the minority leader, 
Senators Leahy, Dodd, and Specter, and many others have invested 
heavily in reaching consensus on many of these issues.
  I hope my colleagues will very carefully consider what is in this 
bill and engage in meaningful debate. Member after Member from both 
sides have voiced their agreement with that assessment by the Supreme 
Court, that the system is broken and Congress has the responsibility to 
fix it. With the help of my colleagues I am confident we can fix it. As 
I have outlined many times in the Senate, we have a process whereby we 
can consider that bill and bring it to the floor and indeed fix it.

                          ____________________