Ban Asbestos in America Act of 2007

Floor Speech

BAN ASBESTOS IN AMERICA ACT OF 2007

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Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I thank all of my colleagues in the Senate for taking a moment this afternoon to pass a very important piece of legislation. What the Senate did was pass the Ban Asbestos in America Act of 2007. This is a piece of legislation I have been working on now for almost 7 years.

When I heard about Americans and people who were dying from asbestos, I thought to myself, my gosh, I thought asbestos was banned many years ago. How can this be?

Well, the fact is asbestos has never been banned. In fact, today 2,500 metric tons of asbestos are being imported every year. It is in products such as hair dryers, ceiling tiles, it is in brake pads, and over 3,000 other products Americans are using and being exposed to every day.

I began, with Senator Paul Wellstone, 6 years ago to try and pass this legislation. Of course, I lost my friend Senator Wellstone in an airplane crash. I thought to myself: Wow, how am I ever going to get this out of the Senate without his passion?

Well, I was very fortunate because I found another partner who was just as passionate, and he is here with us today, Senator Isakson from Georgia, who took up this banner with me, who has worked this bill through every way possible, because he too looked in the eyes of those families who were losing loved ones, members of their families today, because asbestos was exposing them to deadly diseases, and they were dying of mesothelioma.

I could not have done it without him. I thank him from the bottom of my heart for working this bill through every nook and cranny, every difficult challenge we have had, every difficult sentence.

For anybody out there who thinks legislation passes without anybody looking at it, we can tell you that every ``T'' has been crossed, every ``I'' has been dotted, and this legislation, when it passes, is going to make a real difference in the lives of Americans.

I thank Senator Boxer, the chair of the EPW Committee, who, when she heard us working on this bill 7 or 8 months ago now, said: Senator Murray, Senator Isakson, this bill is in my jurisdiction. I am going to work with you to get it passed. She has worked every single day through all of the challenges we have had, to this moment now, and what a moment it is.

When I began this battle, I began it with two men I met who were dying of mesothelioma as a result of being exposed to asbestos: Fred Biekkola and Brian Harvey. I told them I would stand with them every step of the way until this bill was passed, sent to the President, and signed into law.

I lost both Brian and Fred, because they died of mesothelioma. But I have met many others along the way too. Today I stand here on the floor of the Senate and I tell everyone, when you believe in something, and you work hard, and you find good people to work with you, you can make a difference.

Because of the Freds and the Brians and the many other people I have met, and my great colleagues on the floor of the Senate, today we are making a difference. We are well on our way to banning the use of asbestos.

It goes now to the House. We are working to make sure the House gets this passed and to the President's desk. I can tell everyone in America, when that bill is signed, we will no longer be exposed to the importation and use of asbestos in this country. You can pick up your hair dryer, or know that the ceiling tiles you buy, or the brake pads that are in your car, or the mechanic who is exposed to it accidentally will no longer be exposed to it, and we will have made a major step forward in the health of all Americans.

I thank Senator Isakson, Senator Boxer, Senator Inhofe, all of the people who have worked with us. But as we all know, we are doing this because we want America to be a safer place. I thank everybody for this major step forward.

I yield to my colleague who has worked so hard with me on this.

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