February 17, 2006

John Cornyn's amendment to replace the Specter-Leahy trust fund with a medical criteria bill was defeated 70-27, but now that the trust fund is (at least temporarily) off the table, the Coalition for Asbestos Reform (an insurer-funded group that opposed the trust-fund approach) has called for the Senate to revive the idea, which parallels a bill proposed in the House. Senator Leahy opposes the approach, but other Democrats have expressed an openness to the idea. Ray Lehmann has been doing the best reporting on the political machinations; his latest is here.