PUBLIC CITIZEN PRESS RELEASE May 10, 2005
Major Lobbying Campaign Nets Small Group of Companies
Tens of Billions of Dollars from Senate's Asbestos Bill, Report Finds
Financial Investment Firms Spend Millions to Win Preferred Positions;
Jockeying for Advantage by Companies Will Sharply Limit Aid to Victims
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Under the guise of providing aid to victims of
asbestos-related illnesses, a small group of companies has lobbied for
and won relief from their liability worth tens of billions of dollars in
the Senate's asbestos trust fund bill, according to a new Public Citizen
report.
Their success in protecting their corporate interests, however, will
sharply reduce the funds under the legislation that will be available to
asbestos victims, the report finds. Meanwhile, some of the nation's
largest financial investment firms have spent millions of dollars in
lobbying and campaign contributions to position themselves to score big
rewards should the legislation pass.
"The Senate legislation that began as a good-faith effort to help the
thousands of victims of asbestos has turned into a carnival of greed by
some of America's biggest corporate interests,' said Joan Claybrook,
president of Public Citizen.
The Public Citizen asbestos report is available online at
http://www.citizen.org/asbestosThe full press release is available at
http://www.citizen.org/pressroom/release.cfm?ID=1941------------------------------------------------------------
For more information about this, and the other issues Public
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