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.
"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 from shortness of breath and coughing to an often fatal cancer known as mesothelioma.
Advocates of the compensation plan say it is needed to stem the increasingly costly litigation and economic uncertainty faced by companies being sued; at the same time, they say it would establish a system to ensure that victims get compensated. The fund would be financed by asbestos manufacturers and their insurance firms.
"I think it is an unconscionable vote to vote no," said Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), a leading architect of the plan. He described the current situation as "an anathema and travesty and unworthy of the American judicial system."
Opponents have argued that the fund could prove insufficient for the large number of claims expected in the coming years, while relieving companies of a financial burden that is theirs to shoulder.
By some estimates, future claims might exceed $140 billion, raising concerns about how that could affect victims and whether costs would be shifted to taxpayers. In addition, legislators disagree on whether the plan would accomplish its aim of adding greater certainty to asbestos claims or if employers might be able to manipulate the new system at the expense of victims.
The debate is scheduled to continue this week. The bill has emphatic opponents, and Tuesday's lopsided vote is not viewed as a reflection of the Senate's sentiment on the legislation.
"One would have to search long and hard to find a bill in my opinion as bad as this," Reid said.
