Hart Nat Hentoff David Horowitz Arianna Huffington Marianne Jennings Michael Kelly Mort Kondracke Ch. The article tells of the success of Samuel Heyman, chairman of GAF Corp., in lobbying for a bill to change rules for asbestos lawsuits. The article sets out how much money Heyman, his wife, and GAF's political action committee have contributed to politicians and both parties, and the reader is invited to conclude that this billionaire and his company are purchasing legislation that will benefit them. The Corruption of American Politics.
Asbestos causes sickness in some but by no means all workers many years after exposure.
But most claimants who have recovered money are not sick and may never be, while those who are sick must often wait years for claims to be settled. The biggest winners in the current system are a handful of trial lawyers who take contingent fees of up to 40 percent and have made literally billions of dollars. Heyman's proposal, altered somewhat by a proposed House compromise, would stop nonsick plaintiffs from getting any money, while setting up an administrative system to determine which plaintiffs are sick and to offer them quick settlements based on previous recoveries. The statute of limitations would be tolled, which means that nonsick plaintiffs could recover whenever signs of sickness appear. These are strong arguments, strong enough to win bipartisan support for the bill, from Democratic Sens.