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Opposition Grows the More Americans Learn About Massive Asbestos Trust Fund

Public Reaction Echoes Concerns of GOP Judiciary Senators

WASHINGTON, July 11 /PRNewswire/ -- In the first opinion survey to test public support for S. 852 and the Asbestos Trust Fund approach, Americans, by overwhelming margins (66% - 18%) said they prefer reforming the asbestos litigation system by requiring people to meet minimum medical criteria proving that asbestos caused their health problems, as opposed to the no-fault trust fund approach. Overall support for the Trust Fund was tepid at best, with Americans evenly divided (40% - 37%) between a no-fault $140 Billion Trust Fund run by the government and the current tort system, which the public believes is in crisis. Moreover, the survey, conducted by Mercury Public Affairs and Fleishman-Hillard on behalf of the Coalition for Asbestos Reform (C.A.R.), found that support for the trust fund approach weakened and opposition grew the more the public learned about S. 852.

"This survey makes it very clear what most advocates of asbestos reform have known all along -- S. 852 is the wrong solution for this problem," said Thomas O'Brien, Chairman of C.A.R. "Americans know a bad deal when they see it and S. 852 -- which has been advanced by a handful of companies for their own benefit -- threatens to bankrupt many smaller companies and will result in more delays in providing medical care and compensation to victims of asbestos poisoning."

When those surveyed were informed about the specifics of the bill . . .

-- a new $140 billion tax on businesses;
-- a new government bureaucracy to support a new entitlement program;
-- an unreasonable shifting of financial responsibility from Fortune 100
companies to the backs of small and mid-size businesses;
-- the threat of bankruptcy and loss of thousands of jobs due to the
financial impact on small and mid-size business;
-- $7 billion in fees to trial lawyers; and
-- immediate government borrowing to support the fund

. . . support for the Trust Fund dropped from 40% to 19%, while opposition grew to 60% from 37%.

The results of this survey echo concerns raised by a group of seven GOP members of the Senate Judiciary Committee who voted S. 852 out of committee in May. These objections were made public on July 1 when the Senators filed extensive "Additional Views" as part of the committee bill report.

Findings Echo Senate Concerns

The "Additional Views" filed on July 1 by U.S. Senators Sam Brownback (R-KS), Tom Coburn (R-OK), John Cornyn (R-TX), Lindsay Graham (R-SC), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Jeff Sessions (R-AL), who voted to report the bill to the full Senate in May, stated that after thoroughly researching the issues related to S. 852, they continue to have "serious reservations" about the trust fund approach.

Like the poll respondents, the Senators expressed concern regarding the unfair tax burden placed on smaller businesses by the allocation formulas; the potential for additional bankruptcies among those businesses; the creation of a new government bureaucracy; excessive payments to trial lawyers; the desire for medical criteria to ensure the truly sick receive medical care and compensation; and ultimately whether the Fund would remain financially viable long enough to provide compensation to the victims.

Significantly, Judiciary Committee Democrats who opposed the bill shared some of the concerns of the Republicans who voted to report it. The Minority Views signed by Senators Joe Biden (D-DE), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Ted Kennedy (D-MA), seriously questioned the trust fund approach to the asbestos liability problem.

"The Coalition commends these Senators for having the foresight to see the serious flaws in this piece of legislation, particularly as it relates to the inequity of the allocations on small to medium-sized businesses," said O'Brien. "In fact, the Senators cite as an example a company which appears to be a member of the Coalition on which this Trust Fund would place a financial burden that would threaten its survival.

"It is now clear that both the general public and certain Senators recognize S. 852 will not achieve the goals of asbestos litigation reform: providing meaningful support for the victims of asbestos exposure and finality to the businesses affected by litigation. We at the Coalition look forward to working with the U.S. Senate to develop legislation that will meet those goals and be the right solution."

The national survey was conducted on June 14, 2005, with a sample of 600 likely voters and a margin of error of +/- 4.0%. For the oversample of 200 business executives, the margin of error is +/- 6.9%.

The Coalition for Asbestos Reform (C.A.R.) is a group of small and medium sized businesses and major insurance companies, committed to educating U.S. businesses and policymakers about the serious flaws in S. 852.

Source: Coalition for Asbestos Reform

CONTACT: Keith Alm, for Coalition for Asbestos Reform, +1-202-828-8857,
almk@fleishman.com