Victims oppose asbestos bill

Colorado asbestos victims and their families on Tuesday called on U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar to vote against an asbestos compensation bill, calling it a "bailout" for major corporations.
The bill, which Congress could vote on as early as today, calls for creation of a $140 billion fund to compensate victims of asbestos-related illnesses. The trust fund would be financed by asbestos companies and managed by an administrator housed at the U.S. Department of Labor.
Critics contend the trust fund is less than what's needed to compensate all current and future victims, while releasing companies that use asbestos from accountability.
Supporters, on the other hand, have said the measure will eliminate lengthy and costly court litigation, while ensuring that money goes directly to victims.
Salazar, a Colorado Democrat, has not said how he will vote on the legislation but expressed strong concerns Tuesday, saying it could set up a system that "has the potential to bust the federal treasury."
"Our commitment to fiscal discipline should not simply be rhetorical," Salazar said in a news release. "While I believe we need a federal solution to this issue, I will not support a program that has the high potential of bankrupting our government any further."
Asbestos is a group of silicate minerals used in many industrial processes.
Asbestos fibers, which easily are inhaled, can cause numerous health problems, including a fatal and incurable cancer called mesothelioma. Asbestos fibers also can attack the lungs without causing cancer.
Deanie Pate, of Denver, said her 65-year-old father, who worked in a steel mill and in the construction industry for more than 38 years, was diagnosed with mesothelioma in November 2004. Doctors told her family he had three to six months to live.
"He's lost 60 pounds. I can easily pick him up," Pate said, adding that doctors advised him to get a lung and his diaphragm removed to prolong his life.
His health, however, continues to diminish, she said. Two weeks ago, he suffered a heart attack.
"He was such a healthy man. Now, they've told us to call a hospice in less than six months."
The asbestos compensation bill does not guarantee a just compensation to the large number of people who have been affected by asbestos or those who will be affected in the future, said Bill Vandenberg, program director for the Colorado Progressive Coalition.
In Colorado, some 75 percent of school buildings have asbestos, he said.
According to EWG Action Fund, an environmental working group, more than 80,000 tons of ore have been transported from Montana to plants in Denver where attic insulation and other products that create asbestos-contaminated dusts were produced.
The passage of the bill "will hurt real people," Vandenberg said.
U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard, a Colorado Republican, backs the bill.
Supporters say passage of the bill will create a trust fund that will allow for timely payments to those who need the money most - victims, not their lawyers.
"Although the bill under consideration in the Senate is not perfect, it is a welcome step toward addressing the broken system that has been sabotaged by fraudulent claims and plagued by lengthy delays and outrageous lawyers' fees," Allard said in a statement.
According to a 2005 RAND Institute for Civil Justice study, claimants have received about 42 percent of awards in asbestos litigation; the rest has gone to lawsuit costs and attorneys' fees.
Carolyn Benton, of Greeley, who lost her husband to an illness that has no known cause other than asbestos, said the issue is not money, but holding companies accountable.
"Last week it was my husband. Next week it could be your family member," she said with a quivering voice as other asbestos victims held handmade signs that read: "Salazar stand with Coloradans, not Corporations."
About a dozen people representing a variety of organizations, including the Sierra Club and AFL-CIO, attended the rally.