Baucus: 'Someone will step up' for Libby

When Sen. Max Baucus retires from the Senate next year, somebody will get elected to his position and somebody will fill his seat as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. 

While political pundits on the national stage try to guess who those somebodies will be, the people who were exposed to asbestos in Libby are wondering who in the federal government will step up to advocate on their behalf. 

Ever since Libby’s asbestos problems made national headlines in 1999, Baucus has been the go-to guy for anyone who has concerns or questions about the Environmental Protection Agency’s cleanup efforts, the healthcare programs that were put in place to take care of asbestos victims, and pretty much anything else related to the contamination in Libby.

“(Baucus) came to my house in January of 2000, and he spoke to about 20 of us there, people who had been diagnosed, and he said he would help. And he’s been in contact with us ever since,” said Gayla Benefield, a Libby resident who blew the whistle on W.R. Grace, the mining company that was responsible for the asbestos contamination.  

On Wednesday, Baucus visited Libby once again – his staffers estimated it was his 24th visit to Libby since the first one at Benefield’s house. This time, he brought Marilyn Tavenner, the top official in charge of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, to see the faces of the people who have suffered from asbestos exposure and to introduce her to the medical teams who are providing care for those who have developed lung diseases.

Between stops at the Libby Cemetery, the Libby Café, the Centers for Asbestos Related Disease Clinic and the Northwest Community Health Center, Baucus took time to answer questions from reporters. Here is a transcript of an interview with Baucus that was conducted by The Western News and two additional media outlets. 

Back when you first started visiting Libby to address the asbestos contamination, did you think we’d still be here dealing with this 13 years later? 

I didn’t know. Frankly, I didn’t think much about that. I thought much more about getting the job done. Keep the focus and attention and pressure on the administrations, Republican or Democrat, to get results. I was going to do whatever it takes, no matter how long it takes. 

Things always take longer than you think they are going to take. Whatever it is, something comes up that slows things down a bit. 

You just have to do what it takes to get it done – whether its cleanups, CARD, healthcare, whatever, because Libby was taken advantage of. W.R. Grace didn’t care about the people of Libby, they just cared about profits. It just burned me up the way nobody paid much attention to Libby – I mean, someone has to. And me, I planned on staying.

Governors come and go. But I wasn’t planning on coming or going. I was planning on staying as long as the people of Montana wanted me to serve. 

Looking back at the election results in recent years, it doesn’t seem like that was ever really a problem. 

Well, you never know. You never know 

It seems like you are always working on something for Libby, behind the scenes or publicly. People here really rely on you as a go-to guy on asbestos issues. Does your office have a running to-do list for Libby?

Yeah, well, I was looking at a list not so long ago that showed all the things we have done. It’s quite a – yeah.

I don’t know, maybe I should be more strategic and think longer term, but right now I’m just focused on this project to take this pilot program and expand the benefits as widely as possible. 

It’s definitely time to get this done. We want to get it done this year. Then we’ll look around and see what next needs to be done. 

What are some of the things you can do after you have left office to keep the focus on Libby? 

 The first answer to that is, now that I’m not campaigning, I’ve got about 30 to 40 percent more time because I’m not out hustling up campaign contributions and votes and that kind of thing to get re-elected, which I find dispiriting and distasteful, frankly. So, I have more time.

 Second, in that same category, it’s energizing. I’m working on stuff of substance. That’s what I hired on for. It’s a lot of fun, frankly, not to have to worry about re-election. So there’s that. 

 I’ll be in Montana. I don’t know precisely what that’s going to mean. But I’ll be here, and I’ll know about Libby. And if things aren’t going well, I’ll just call Marilyn and say, “Marilyn, what about that photo on your desk? Remember when you were in Libby. You better be doing something about that now.”  

I will still be around.

So far, what do you think her reaction has been?

It’s been very positive. She’s going to try. There’s no doubt, she’ll try hard to expand Medicare coverage to people. not only in Lincoln and Flathead counties, but surrounding areas. She’s going to try hard. She’ll try hard. 

Asbestos victims in Libby have relied on you so long. You’re always the guy to go to – whether there’s a problem with the EPA or healthcare or whatever. So, what are they going to do when you retire? Is there someone you can pass the torch to? What about Senator Tester? Is there anybody? 

First of all, I’m not going anywhere for a year and a half. 

Second, politics is always a vacuum. Where there’s a need, somebody is going to fill it. Whenever somebody leaves a position, the next person is excited and wants to do a good job and most likely will. 

I can’t tell you precisely who that person is going to be. But somebody, most likely the rest of the delegation, will say, “Hey, Max isn’t going to be there in 2015, and those folks in Libby really need a lot of help, and I need to do what I can to help out.” 

 So, someone will step up. I have no doubt. And I will help that person – I don’t care if it’s a Republican or a Democrat – I’m going to help that person because what really counts is to keep the ball rolling in Libby.

When you look out across the political playing field in Montana, who do you think is in the best position to carry on the work you have been doing in Libby for so many years?

That’s for the people of Libby and Lincoln County to determine. And I’m not going to presume to suggest who that person should be. 

It’s part of the democratic process. Life goes on. Tomorrow is another day. There are always new challenges. 

I have full confidence that the people in Libby will find the right combination of people to keep addressing the needs. And I’m quite confident the Montana delegation, whoever is selected to serve Montana, will help fight for those benefits as well. Beyond that, I’m going to be living in Montana doing all I can to help make that happen.

You might still be getting the phone calls then. The people of Libby aren’t going to let you retire all that easily.

 I expect I will get a few phone calls. Whatever way I can, I just want to make sure the people of Libby get justice. And this is part of it. I will not rest until justice for Libby is fully secured.