Washington==An amendment to asbestos injury claims legislation designed to win support of business and insurance interests will be taken up tomorrow when the Senate Judiciary Committee resumes work on the bill.
But the amendment, which strengthens the criteria that claimants with terminal illnesses will have to meet to secure fast payment during the startup phase, is unlikely to win the support of key Democrats, according to several lobbyists who have followed the bill for several years.
And, even in the unlikely event the amendment wins the support of Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., it is still unlikely to win the backing of the big insurance companies who will pay the dominant part of the industry's $46 billion contribution to the $140 million trust fund that would be created to pay claimants, the industry lobbyists said.
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