May 20th, 2005

A new political organization has purchased over $200,000 worth of ads in various states, which it plans to run in order to drum up opposition to the asbestos trust fund bill that is likely to be voted on this month by the Senate Judiciary Committee. The group is led by a Texan lawyer, Mark Iola, who already has experience in both asbestos dealings and in politics.

The Senate Accountability Project intends to spend ten to fifteen million in the 2005/2006 elections, and its first major purchase and project has been to raise awareness and encourage others to oppose the trust fund bill.

The group has purchased these ads in a number of states, including Arkansas, Montana, Nebraska and Washington, D.C. The ads run for about thirty seconds, and this time is spent convincing others that this bill serves only to take away the rights of asbestos victims.

The bill was due to be voted on last month, but opposition to some of the amendments meant that it had to be stalled. The delay has given the new group time to make an impact with their ads, which were to air last week. The group will also be focusing on other areas in the future, but decided to kick off on the controversial topic of asbestos and the trust fund.