Will the senate asbestos bill pass?

Investor’s Business Daily (via Yahoo) is reporting that the asbestos bill will have its day, but its chances of passing are slim.

After more than two years of wrangling, the Senate is set to vote…on a major $140 billion bill to resolve the asbestos litigation crisis. But insiders say the bill’s chances are iffy at best.

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Of the four major stakeholders that would be affected by the bill — business, insurers, trial lawyers and big labor — only business is backing the current version. One union, United Auto Workers, has broken ranks to endorse it.

It has scant Democratic support and many conservative Republicans have also expressed serious qualms about it. Passage is going to require a lot of arm-twisting.

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Among the concerns are whether $140 billion is enough and if the cases will return to the courts if the fund runs out. A Congressional Budget Office study indicated the fund could fall $10 billion short.

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Insurers are concerned that creating a fund will only cause more people to file suits before the trust is up and running. Trial lawyers don’t like it since it would limit fees in what has been a very lucrative field.

Meanwhile, in Japan, things are going a little more smoothly. Japan’s Cabinet recently approved a draft of a bill that would “compensate people suffering from asbestos-related health problems.” The Japanese government “is considering one-time payments of 2.6 million yen ($22,000) to any family that has suffered a death. Benefits would also apply to people not covered by industrial accident insurance.”