Lobbying continues for Libby lung test provision
Two days after returning from Washington, D.C., Dr. Brad Black of Libby was continuing to lobby on Monday for a lung diffusion capacity test provision being added to proposed federal asbestos legislation that could benefit Libby vicitms of asbestos-related disease.
Black was in the nation's capital on Thursday helping U.S. Senator Conrad Burns (R - Mont.) convince Senator Tom Coburn (R - Okla.), also a doctor that the DLCO was needed in the Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act of 2006, which is slated for Senate debate this week. At the meeting in Burns' office near the Senate chamber was Black and Montana's senior U.S. Senator Max Baucus, a Democrat.
Coburn has been leading an effort against inclusion of the improvement to the Libby provision. Without language for the lung diffusion capacity test, about 40 percent of the more than 1,100 Libby ARD victims would not qualify to what is often referred to as the "Libby fix" provision in the act.
Coburn had strongly opposed inclusion of the lung diffusion capacity test, but after meeting with Black, Burns and Baucus, he promised to Burns that he will make every effort to learn more about the extraordinary circumstances associated with Libby, according to a news release from Burns' office.
On Monday, with Burns' help, Black was in contact with another stakeholder in the asbestos debate, Dr. James Crapo, brother of Sen. Mike Crapo (R - Idaho). Crapo has testified in front of the Senate numerous times on the various versions of the asbestos bill in the last several years, and is an expert on lung impairment related to asbestos exposure.
A key vote in the asbestos reform effort was to occur Tuesday evening, with the Senate considering a motion
to proceed to the bill. Once that vote occurs, Burns said he will lead the effort to include the DLCO test.
Last year, Baucus had the "Libby fix" added tothe legislation ensuring adequate compensation for people exposed to the deadly amphibole asbestos that contaminated the vermiculite formerly mined and processed in the Libby area by W.R. Grace.
Under the Libby fix:
Libby claimants are exempted from the general exposure criteria in the bill - they just have to establish that they lived, worked or played within a 20-mile radius of Libby for any 12-month period prior to Dec. 31, 2004 and meet special medical criteria applicable only to Libby claimants.
Libby claimants can choose to have their claims referred to an expert physicians' panel, which will utilize the special medical criteria developed for Libby claimants to ensure that they are treated fairly.
If the Libby claimants comply with the Libby-specific medical criteria, they will receive a Level 4 award, or $400,000, essentially establishing a floor of compensation of $400,000 for sick Libby claimants. Those payments would be paid out $160,000 for the first year, $120,000 the second year and $120,000 the third year. A Libby claimant diagnosed with cancer will receive a $1.1 million award.
When the proposed law came out of the Senate Judiciary Committee last year, the language for the diffused lung capacity test was removed.
In the next few days, Sen. Burns will be in constant contact with Libby residents, city officials, and medical experts on the options available.
Essentially the bill creates a $140 billion trust for asbestos victims and it eliminates all legal liability for the asbestos companies besieged by thousands of lawsuits. More than 70 U.S. companies, ihjncluding W.R. Grace, have been forced in bankruptcy proceedings because of asbestos injury claims.