AIA Says Asbestos Summit Hopeful for Reform in 2003

Momentum toward true reform of asbestos litigation continues today with a wide-ranging bipartisan summit organized by key senators, the American Insurance Association (AIA) said.

“Today’s meeting shows that leaders in Congress on both sides of the political aisle are working hard to resolve this crisis immediately,” said Leigh Ann Pusey, AIA senior vice president, federal affairs.

AIA is among the organizations sending a representative to the meeting, organized by Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) with the assistance of Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Mike DeWine (R-OH). Dodd organized the meeting as a way to gather the “stakeholders” in asbestos litigation reform – defendants, lawyers, insurers and reinsurers – together to discuss potential areas of agreement.

“We commend Senator Dodd, Senator Hatch and their colleagues for organizing this important gathering, and we will continue to work with members of Congress on a bipartisan basis toward a resolution of the asbestos crisis,” Pusey said. “It’s clear that Republicans and Democrats on both sides of Capitol Hill realize that asbestos victims, American workers and our national economy need asbestos reform this year.”

AIA, along with the National Association of Manufacturers, co-chairs the Asbestos Alliance, a pro-reform organization of defendant companies and insurers urging Congress to change the asbestos litigation system.