Sep 22 2005
The following is a statement from Thomas R. O'Brien, Chairman of the Coalition for Asbestos Reform (C.A.R.), regarding Monday's release of the Bates White, LLC study which evaluated the viability of the Trust Fund proposed by S. 852, the Specter-Leahy asbestos reform bill.
The study estimated actual entitlements to pending and future claimants of at least $300 Billion and as much as $695 Billion -- substantially more than the projections of $140 billion included in the current draft. The study was conducted by Bates White, an economic consulting firm that has studied the asbestos issue extensively and has considerable experience in statistics, modeling, and analysis. Their findings forecast that the Trust Fund would sunset within the first three years with a debt of $45 Billion.
"The Bates White study, which we believe is the only comprehensive and publicly available analysis of the cost of S. 852, confirms our worst fears and proves that the more closely this bill is examined, the worse it looks. No one can ignore the bill's fundamental flaws any longer.
"Furthermore, the new study proves that the Specter-Leahy bill fails to meet every reasonable objective of asbestos reform. Both the White House and Congress have called for asbestos reform that provides certainty, predictability and finality to both victims and defendants.
"By establishing a Fund that will go broke almost as soon as it is created, this bill will not provide certainty for victims, predictability for the defendants and insurers, or finality for anyone. Victims will be left hanging without compensation to pay for their care; defendants will bear the financial brunt of the Trust Fund's early sunset, which will result in all claims returning to the tort system. The only certainty in the bill is the billions in additional taxes and assessments that will be borne by corporate America before and after the Trust Fund runs out of money.
"C.A.R. has long warned that many small and medium-sized businesses face immediate bankruptcy upon the enactment of S. 852's trust fund scheme. It would be a travesty to see otherwise solvent American companies shut their doors and send their hard-working employees home for good, in the name of a trust fund scheme that experts knew ahead of time would not work.
"With all that is at stake, it is hard to fathom how the Senate leadership can ignore statistical proof, based on in-depth analysis, and continue down this dangerous path.
"For the sake of both victims and defendants, we call on Senators Specter and Leahy and their colleagues to take a hard look at the evidence in front of them, abandon the trust fund concept and consider the medical criteria approach that is now working in a number of states."