Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency (FACT) Act of 2013

Floor Speech

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Mr. Chair, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 982.

The average adult takes about 20,000 breaths a day. Most of us don't think much about those breaths. But for those living with asbestosis or mesothelioma, they think about every one of them. They struggle to breathe, they struggle to get medical treatments that are often painful, and they struggle financially. And they have struggled for decades for justice and some have died before receiving it.

Asbestos victims and their families have a right to believe that the House of Representatives--the people's House--would not put further barriers in their way. And that is why H.R. 982 is so disturbing.

This bill would threaten asbestos victims' privacy by putting their personal information on a public website. Exposed to asbestos, they would now be exposed to identity theft and fraud.

The Rand Institute estimates that the median payment to asbestos victims is just 25 cents on the dollars--with some as low as 1.1 percent. Yet, H.R. 982 would divert dollars away from compensation to burdensome paperwork requirements that go far beyond current law and bypass long-established rules of discovery. Asbestos companies face no similar ``transparency'' requirements.

The proponents of this bill say it is necessary to put victims' privacy at risk; delay and lower the payments they need to live because of fraud in company trusts--but there is no evidence of fraud.

This is an unjustifiable bill--and it is a dangerous bill. I urge my colleagues to reject it.

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