On April 18, 2012, then-Congressman Ben Quayle introduced legislation that he said was necessary to root out fraud by people seeking compensation for石棉相关疾病给有真正主张的受害者留下更多的钱。
“我很荣幸今天介绍《事实法》，”亚利桑那共和党人奎尔（Quayle），前副总统丹·奎尔（Dan Quayle）的儿子Quayle，当时说。“这项立法将为石棉信任系统提供阳光和透明度。”
In reality, the opposite was true and Quayle’s proposed bill went nowhere at the time.
Almost four years later, the U.S. House of Representatives is poised to vote on an updated version of the Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency (FACT) Act when it returns from its holiday recess in early 2016. And Quayle, now a former congressman, is once again playing a key role.
That role: He is a now registered lobbyist for theInstitute for Legal Reform，美国商会的倡导部门，也是该事实法的最大支持者之一。
Big Business and the FACT Act: A Cynical Ploy
Quayle’s transformation from one-term congressman to lobbyist for legislation he previously supported isn’t illegal or unusual in Washington, D.C. However, it illustrates how determined Big Business is to enact the FACT Act, which numerous critics say would make it significantly more difficult for asbestos victims and their families to file claims, likely delaying their receiving compensation.
“The so-called FACT Act is nothing short of a cynical ploy by the asbestos industry to get out of compensating those who are sick and dying from asbestos-triggered disease,” says Alex Formuzis, an executive vice president with the Environmental Working Group in Washington.
Formuzis, who wrote about Quayle’s role在《赫芬顿邮报》最近的博客文章中告诉间皮瘤癌症联盟，商万博专业版会决定雇用前国会议员奎尔的决定表明，工业目前正在“撤出所有停留”，以试图让国会通过《事实法》。
“奎尔在国会任职期间是石棉行业最大的辩护者之一，他引入了所谓的事实法，”福尔摩齐斯说。“现在，他正在薪资，推动他的前同事支持将退伍军人，消防员和第一响应者，老师和许多其他人遭受认同盗窃的风险，同时延迟并拒绝对石棉疾病的受害者的赔偿。”
（本·奎尔（Ben Quayle）没有回电话寻求这个故事的评论。）
In addition to the Chamber of Commerce, the FACT Act is supported by theAmerican Legislative Exchange Council以及包括霍尼韦尔国际和科赫工业在内的石棉索赔的潜在责任责任数十亿美元的公司。众议院众议院的投票很可能在1月，即国会从假期休会中回来时进行投票。投票是一场激烈的战斗，与石棉受害者及其家人，退伍军人团体，消费者和环境组织以及劳工工会强烈反对。
How the FACT Act Hurts Asbestos Victims
在其他事情中,评论家指出《事实法》将延迟或拒绝对石棉受害者及其家人的赔偿。万博安装app这也将使受害者通过强迫石棉破产信托来披露受害者的个人信息，可能包括病历和部分社会安全号码，使受害者容易受到身份盗用的影响。
《事实法》的支持者说，必须确保索赔人两次获得伤害，以确保索赔人无法“双重浸入”来确保透明度和消除欺诈行为，但批评者说索赔是胡说八道。
美国消费者产品安全委员会（CPSC）前执行董事帕梅拉·吉尔伯特（Pamela Gilbert）说：“《事实法》与透明度无关。”“该法案违反了石棉患者和家人的隐私，延迟了赔偿，并为在石棉诉讼中被告的公司提供了法律上的优势。”
她继续说：“《事实法》受到石棉受害者，退伍军人团体以及隐私和消费者倡导者的反对。它仅由在石棉诉讼中被告的公司提供支持，仅出于一个原因 - 减少对被石棉中毒的受害者的责任。”
Linda Reinstein, president of theAsbestos Disease Awareness Organizationand contributor to the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance blog, agrees. “The very industry that is responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans is behind this scheme to delay and deny justice to its current and future victims,” says Reinstein. “It’s a cynical ploy to escape even the smallest amount of responsibility for destroying the lives of innocent, hardworking people and their families.”
事实法案的支持者继续努力
This is the third time supporters have tried to get a similar bill passed in Congress. It was first introduced by then-Congressman Quayle in 2012, but failed to get anywhere. In 2013, a similar bill was introduced by Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas, and passed the U.S. House of Representatives but failed to gain approval by the Senate. On Jan. 26, 2015, the current version was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, once again by Farenthold. The House Judiciary Committee approved the bill in May by a vote of 19-9, with all 19 Republicans voting for the bill. A引入了类似的法案在美国参议院由参议员杰夫·弗莱克（Jeff Flake），R-阿里佐纳（R-Arizona）。
当美国众议院在假期休会后回到工作时，众议院领导人将把事实法与另一项亲企业的立法结合在一起，“集体诉讼法案中的公平行为”为一项法案。合并后的法案可能最早在本周星期三或周四进行投票。《事实法》和《集体诉讼法》都被认为是所谓的“侵权改革”，批评者说，这些法案将使受害者更难提出索赔并得到补偿。
The FACT Act, critics say, would disproportionately harm veterans, firefighters, first-responders, and teachers, groups that have a间皮瘤的发病率更高万博专业版比公众。例如，退伍军人仅占美国人口的8％，但要解释about 30 percent of mesothelioma victims。
Despite that, Farenthold has remained a staunch advocate of the FACT Act and claims he is working to help veterans. When theJudiciary Committee approved the bill in May, for example, he put out a statement claiming that the bill would help asbestos victims, including veterans.
声明说：“这项法案的通过将有助于阻止减少石棉信托支出的减少 - 其中许多人已减少了50％以上 - 这对受害者的伤害不成比例，尤其是我们勇敢地献身的退伍军人。”“对于那些面临间皮瘤和其他与石棉有关的疾病的受害者，通过双重倾斜或不道德的法律习俗所获得的每一美元都减少了一美元。万博专业版《事实法》将把阳光照射到不透明的石棉信托系统中，以抗击这种欺诈和虐待。”
在一次采访中，法伦德霍尔德（Farenhold）捍卫了事实行为是亲贝斯特（Asbestos）的受害者和亲兵。
“What I want to reiterate is that this isn’t about cutting or lowering the amount victims receive or making it harder for victims to recover for their injuries,” Farenthold tells the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance. “What it is about is making sure that there is enough money left in the trust funds for future victims.”
He adds, “This applies especially to veterans because even though veterans make up only eight percent of the population, they make up 30 percent of asbestos victims.” Farenthold says he has received letters of support from numerous veterans’ groups, including the Texas Coalition of Veterans Organizations. “I see this as a pro-veterans bill,” he says.
Asked about claims by critics that the FACT Act would make asbestos victims vulnerable to identify fraud, Farenthold says “All we are asking for is the name of the person, the amount of the judgment and the basis of the claim.”
Over the years, Farenthold has touted his work on behalf of wounded veterans. In August 2013, for example, he宣布that he had hired a member of the Congressional Wounded Warrior Program for an outreach program in his district. A year later, Farenthold and three other congressmen提出立法以支持受伤的战士in the federal workforce.
但是，法官倡导紫心勋章的法官杰森·约翰斯（Jason Johns）是一个由男子和女人组成的退伍军人组织，他们在美国军方服役时接受了紫心勋章，他说，法伦德·霍尔德（Farenthold）的话是不明智的。
约翰斯在接受采访时说：“我认为，当许多退伍军人受到石棉暴露的影响时，您正在支持受伤的战士。”“如果（国会议员法伦特霍尔德）真正担心，为什么他会增加更多的负担？要说您正在通过引入事实行为来保护退伍军人，而实际上增加了更多负担并没有意义。”
Lobbying for the FACT Act
Records show that Farenthold and other congressmen who have supported the FACT Act have received substantial campaign contributions from asbestos interests over the years.根据环境工作组的研究, the 19 House Judiciary Committee members who supported the FACT Act have received nearly $3.3 million in campaign contributions over the last five years from companies that would benefit from the bill’s passage.
该研究说，自2010年以来，这19个国会议员的平均收到了173,267美元。五名获得最多的国会议员是：
- Lamar Miller（R-Texas） - $ 382,150
- Darryl Issa（R-CA。） - $ 372,329
- Virgil Goodlate（R-VA。），司法委员会主席 - 300,879美元
- 兰迪·福布斯（R-VA。） - $ 286,285
- Blake Farenthold (R-Tex.) – $239,250
“代表。Farenthold的法案声称要提高石棉索赔的透明度，但这实际上只是一项计划，尽可能长时间地延迟为受害者的死亡和疾病支付付款。”
沃克说：“《事实法》不仅会为受害者的赔偿提供不必要的官僚障碍，而且通过强迫他们公开自己的个人财务数据，可能会使他们处于身份盗用的风险中。”“您可能会认为，这样的糟糕法案对国会议员来说是不开始的，但是我们的报告显示了石棉利益如何利用其现金和影响力来否认正义和逃避其责任后果。”
在采访中，法伦德说，捐款与他在事实法上的立场无关。他说：“我的竞选活动有数百万个捐助者。”“根据现行的金融法，任何人都能提供的最多的是2,700美元。没有人会以2,700美元的价格购买我的投票。那是胡说八道。”
Asked whether he had been lobbied by former congressman Ben Quayle, Farenthold says “Ben and I are friends,” but that the two men “have not had any detailed discussions” about the legislation. “I got an ‘Atta boy,’ from him” after introducing the FACT Act in 2013, Farenthold says of Quayle, but adds that “he hasn’t come into my office and lobbied me.”
越来越多的抗战t the FACT Act
随着美国众议院完整的众议院的投票，《事实法》的反对者一直在加紧努力说服国会议员击败《事实法》。例如，在10月，三个小组代表教师，消防员和其他急救人员和公共雇员sent a letter to Congressopposing both the House and Senate versions of the FACT Act.
According to research, teachers, firefighters, and fire responders are also more likely to be diagnosed with asbestos disease than the general public, due to increase exposure to asbestos at work.
国际消防员协会（IAFF），国家教育协会（NEA）和美国联合会（American Education Association）和美国联合会（American Education Association）和美国联盟（American Education Association）和美国联盟（American Education Association）和美国联合会（American Federation），“石棉暴露的受害者，包括第一响应者和教师，以及许多其他敬业的公共雇员。”在给国会的信中，州，县和市政雇员（AFSCME）写道。
The letter said that both the House and Senate versions of the FACT ACT “would give companies an unfair advantage over asbestos victims seeking justice for their injuries — speciously touted as a ‘transparency bill,’ the measure actually is designed to help the asbestos industry avoid paying victims through delay tactics and waste of scarce trust resources set aside for victims. . . Our nation’s first responders, teachers and public employees dying of asbestos diseases deserve more respect and better treatment from Congress.”
约翰斯（Johns）是紫心脏军事秩序的法官倡导者，也提出了类似的认罪。
他说：“我们反对事实法。”“我们认为，美国国会应该花时间试图使因石棉暴露受伤的人更容易受伤，而不是继续增加更多的障碍，以安抚意愿暴露它们的产品的制造商。透明
