WASHINGTON (Feb. 15) — By a two-vote margin, the Senate blocked a vote on a bill to set up a $140-billion trust fund for claimants in asbestos-related litigation, though the legislation´s supporters vowed to bring it back to the floor before the legislative session ends.
One supporter, Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, was absent because of his wife´s illness; another, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., changed his vote from "Yes" to "No" in a procedural move that will allow him to revive the bill later.
The auto aftermarket and other industries support the bill as a way to ensure compensation to qualified plaintiffs while protecting businesses from bankruptcy. Trial lawyers and consumer groups, however, claim the legislation would provide inadequate funds to those with asbestos-related illnesses, and that taxpayers would be forced to make up the shortfall.