News from
Congressman Joe Pitts
Sixteenth District of Pennsylvania

504 Cannon House Office Building  ·  Washington, DC  20515 
Contact: Gabe Neville (202) 225-2411 ·  FAX: (202) 225-2013  ·  Internet: www.house.gov/pitts

For Immediate Release
November 20, 2000

Rep. Pitts writes letter to House leaders on asbestos litigation

Washington—Congressman Joe Pitts (R, PA-16) issued a letter to House leadership today regarding the affect of asbestos litigation on business.  The text of the letter follows:

Dear Leaders:

            I write to urge you to make asbestos tort reform legislation a top priority for the 107^th Congress.  It is imperative that the Congress act swiftly to address this serious issue.

            As you know, there are more than 200,000 asbestos lawsuits pending in federal and state courts with tens of thousands of new cases filed each year.  Our court system simply cannot bear this massive burden, and in turn, those suffering from asbestos-related illnesses are not receiving prompt and fair compensation.  

            Unfortunately, under the current system, two-thirds of every settlement dollar goes to lawyers and court costs – not to the true victims of asbestos exposure.  Further, the backlog of cases in the courts has greatly increased litigation costs, placing an incredible burden on companies with asbestos liability.  As result, companies such as Armstrong Holdings, Inc., which employs 3,700 people in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in my district, are at risk of going bankrupt.  This would be potentially devastating to our local economy.  Also, bankruptcies have created even more suffering for asbestos victims who must look elsewhere for their compensation or receive no compensation at all. 

            It is clear that for the sake of asbestos victims and companies we need to reform the current broken system.  In 1997 and 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court called on Congress to enact a federal asbestos compensation program that would resolve the enormous backlog of asbestos-related personal injury lawsuits.  I support H.R. 1283, a bill designed to accomplish this task by providing asbestos victims with an alternative to the tort system, shifting a majority of the liability to major defendants, and most importantly, taking the litigation out of the hands of trial lawyers and defendant companies and directing the U.S. Department of Justice to administer swift and fair compensation.

            Thank you for your consideration.  Please let me know if I can be of any assistance in making sure that asbestos tort reform is a high priority for the 107^th Congress.

Sincerely,

Joseph R. Pitts
Member of Congress

#   #   #