Senators Clash on Asbestos Litigation Bill

AP is reporting that senators Frist and Reid are butting heads (sort of) over the asbestos bill:

WASHINGTON — Tongue firmly in cheek, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist–a cardiac surgeon–pledged Tuesday to resuscitate Democratic leader Harry Reid if Senate legislation to curb the increasing number of asbestos lawsuits makes him ill.

“I want that bill to come to the (Senate) floor like I want to have a heart attack,” Reid, D-Nev., had declared Monday about the pending legislation.

Frist, a Tennessee heart surgeon before being elected to the Senate in 1994, noted to reporters Tuesday that heart attacks are his specialty.

“I’ll make sure he gets resuscitated,” Frist said, laughing.

Frist, who supports the bill, “avowed that the asbestos litigation crisis “calls out for reform” and was “something I care passionately about.”"

Reid, (along with labor groups, trial lawyers and victims groups), does not support the bill. He “lambasted the bill Monday, saying it was “very, very short in helping the people that need to be helped–that is, the unfortunate people in America who have been exposed to asbestos, who are dying of asbestosis or mesothelioma.”"