Amendment Fails in Fairness in Asbestos Injury ActINDEX...HOME Good Sites July 13 2005 After initial hope that Senator Specter, the head of the Senate Judiciary Committee would push hard for an amendment to the Fairness in Asbestos Injury Act (s.852) which would establish a mesothelioma research and treatment program, it appears the effort is lost. The proposed amendment would have set aside $12 million per year of government money as well as $17 million of private money provided by firms formerly involved in asbestos production. Senator Specter, as the head of the appropriations subcommittee which concentrates on biomedical research, is in a unique position to make this fund a reality. He has indicated recently, however, that he no longer plans to use the additional funding for this purpose. While signs at this juncture point to the fact that the fund will not be created, we will ultimately have to wait until it comes up on the agenda, a possibility any time after the fourth of July recess. Yahoo Finance Reports: "Mesothelioma patients and individuals exposed to asbestos count on research dollars to provide hope for better treatments and survival. This development is disappointing for the mesothelioma research community," said Dr. Harvey Pass, the chairman of the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation¡¯s Science Advisory Board. |