March 8th, 2006

The controversial $140 billion trust fund proposal suffered a major setback after falling short of the required number of votes to move on to the next stage. The bill needed 60 votes in order to be passed through rather than being sent back to the committee. However, it suffered a shortfall of just one vote on Tuesday.

The bill has been at the center of controversy since its conception, with many asbestos victims, lawyers, and support groups claiming that many will be left out in the cold and will miss out on compensation. Further concerns have been raised by the opposition, stating that the fund will fall seriously short of cash in a short period of time and is drastically under funded.

On the other hand, those supporting the bill have stated that the trust fund is a measure that will ease the problems relating to asbestos litigation by easing the burden on courts, help victims to get their compensation more efficiently, cut out fraudulent and frivolous claims, and improve economy by cutting down on business closures.

The bill was also supported by the White House although a statement was recently issued highlighting a number of concerns that the White House had with regards to the bill.