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I was proud to represent my country in the 1960 Olympics in Rome and bring home a gold medal in wrestling. It was one of the highlights of my life to stand on that podium representing every American. Today, just breathing deeply is an accomplishment. I am dying of mesothelioma, an incurable cancer caused only by asbestos exposure.
I was exposed to asbestos while working at an oil refinery in Oklahoma while I was training for the Olympics. Well before that, the asbestos companies knew that asbestos fibers could cause cancer, but they never warned us or stopped using them. This week, after filing my case less than 6 months ago, my case is in trial, thanks to a state law that gives trial preference to terminal claimants.
The Senate is considering a law that would prohibit asbestos victims from suing the companies that manufactured asbestos, covered up the danger, and poisoned them, setting up a weak and insufficient fund to pay some victims. The bill is a multi-billion dollar bailout of the companies that knowingly poisoned workers and their families – it leaves many victims with nothing and saddles taxpayers with billions of dollars of debt.
If this bill passes, my family will not have our day in court. We will not even be allowed to collect the settlements we’ve already reached.
There are thousands of asbestos cancer patients with scheduled court dates. It is unfair that we will lose our right to a trial and have to start over – many of us will die while we wait without being able to provide for our families. The new system would not even be allowed to consider a claimant's medical bills, which can exceed the amount we might be eligible for.
The Congressional Budget Office says the program is woefully under-funded. It won't have enough money to help all victims and will add $8 billion to the federal deficit. As a lifelong pro-business Republican, I do not believe that either the victims who are ill or the taxpayers should have to bear the burden of an under-funded, un-tested bailout. That's why not only every major asbestos victims group opposes this bill, so do taxpayer rights organizations like the National Taxpayers Union.
I'm 71, my goal was to surf until my 80th birthday. I no longer take to the waves and rarely even get to see them. My wife Lucille loves cruises; about a year ago we took a cruise to Ireland. It was the last one we will take. For the most part, I haven’t left the house since I have waves of nausea and pain and I never know when they will hit. I can't even go watch my grandkids play soccer.
I was proud to represent my country. Now I am asking my country – and the Senate – to represent me, and all the victims in our fight to hold accountable the companies that knowingly poisoned us with asbestos.
I urge the Senate to reject this unfair bill.
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