Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency (FACT) Act of 2013

Floor Speech

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I thank my friend, Mr. Conyers.

Mr. Chairman, it is deeply troubling to see that today the House of Representatives might vote to pass the so-called FACT Act, or Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency Act. I urge my colleagues to vote against this bill because it is not about transparency. It is not about accountability. It is absolutely not about justice. The FACT Act is nothing more than a thinly veiled attack on the rights of cancer victims and their families. That is the only way I can describe a piece of legislation that undermines the constitutional rights of asbestos victims and even threatens the privacy of victims and their families.

The FACT Act does nothing to protect the rights of victims like Genevieve Bosilevac, who was diagnosed with mesothelioma just a few days before her 48th birthday in 2009, and widows like Judy Van Ness, who lost her husband to asbestos-caused disease.

Victims of mesothelioma do not have the luxury of time. This brutal form of cancer is hard to detect until it has progressed significantly and all too often already compromised vital internal organs.

Despite the dire implications of this diagnosis, the FACT Act would place additional burdens on victims and even delay court proceedings to the point that a victim would die before receiving any financial assistance through the asbestos trust fund.

If anything, this body should be looking at ways to make it easier to identify legitimate asbestos victims and fast-track their cases. Instead, we are doing the opposite.

This legislation might as well have been written by the asbestos industry because it only provides these companies with new tools to evade justice and their responsibility to victims. Even more incomprehensibly, the FACT Act would require the asbestos trust fund to turn over personally identifying information about victims and even their children.

For the families whose lives have already been torn apart by disease from asbestos exposure, this legislation would create an online Web site that lists victims' sensitive information, including financial histories and even partial Social Security numbers.

I implore my colleagues to recognize that these families have been through enough. There is nothing we in this Chamber can do to fill the void that has been left in the hearts of so many Americans who have lost loved ones due to exposure.

The CHAIR. The time of the gentleman has expired.

Mr. CONYERS. I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. DEUTCH. What we can do is ensure that we have a justice system that protects the rights of victims and puts the constitutional rights of our citizens ahead of special interests.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the FACT Act.

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