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Asbestos Fund Effort Survives in Senate - Los Angeles Times
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February 8, 2006
latimes.com : National News
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Asbestos Fund Effort Survives in Senate
Lawmakers hope to end years of lawsuits by creating a $140-billion compensation plan for victims of the cancer-causing material.
By Jonathan Peterson, Times Staff Writer
WASHINGTON — A painstaking effort to end years of litigation over cancer-causing asbestos survived a procedural hurdle on Tuesday in the Senate, paving the way for a floor debate over a $140-billion plan to compensate victims outside the courtroom.
By a vote of 98 to 1, lawmakers agreed to move forward with the plan to create the compensation fund, designed to stem a tide of litigation that dates back to the 1970s and continues to rise.
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"It's not been easy to get to the point where we are," said Sen.
Patrick J.
Leahy (D-Vt.), urging colleagues to vote to keep the beleaguered plan alive.
"It's taken years and years of work." Throughout the day, the asbestos bill appeared in danger.
But Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) ultimately chose not to challenge the Republicans who wanted to bring it up.
Asbestos has been used in insulation, brake linings, cement pipes and many other products.
Its negative health effects range fr...
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