FAIR Act of 2005
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Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act of 2005 or the FAIR Act of 2005 - Title I: Asbestos Claims Resolution - Subtitle A: Office of Asbestos Disease Compensation - (Sec. 101) Establishes in the Department of Labor the Office of Asbestos Disease Compensation (Office), to be headed by an Administrator who is appointed by the President and who is responsible for processing claims for asbestos-related illnesses and paying compensation to eligible claimants. Declares that the purpose of such Office is to provide timely, fair compensation to claimants whose health has been adversely affected by exposure to asbestos, on a no-fault basis and in a non-adversarial manner.
Terminates the Office not later than 12 months after certification by the Administrator that the Office has neither paid a claim in the previous 12 months nor has debt obligations remaining to pay.
Limits the term of the Administrator to five years. Requires the Administrator to report directly to the Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Employment Standards Administration. Sets forth the specific duties of the Administrator.
Makes the Freedom of Information Act applicable to the Office and the Asbestos Insurers Commission.
Sets forth procedures to protect the confidentiality of claimants' financial and medical records.
(Sec. 102) Directs the Administrator to establish an Advisory Committee on Asbestos Disease Compensation (Advisory Committee). Provides that the Advisory Committee shall consist of 20 members appointed by the Majority and Minority Leaders of the Senate and the Speaker and the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives and the Administrator. Directs the Advisory Committee to advise the Administrator on asbestos disease compensation matters, including: (1) claims filing and claims processing procedures; (2) claimant assistance programs; and (3) audit procedures and quality control programs.
(Sec. 103) Directs the Administrator to establish a Medical Advisory Committee to provide expert medical advice.
(Sec. 104) Requires the Administrator to establish a comprehensive asbestos claimant assistance program, including a program to provide legal assistance to asbestos claimants.
The summary continues for 84 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to Senate with amendment(s)" stage on June 16, 2005. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Cloture motion on the measure withdrawn by unanimous consent in Senate.
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Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
The latest action on file does not map to a stage Civibrief recognizes, so the page will not name one. The record's own words are the reliable fact here.
The record's latest action, on February 14, 2006: Cloture motion on the measure withdrawn by unanimous consent in Senate.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 109th Congress (2005-06), 482 of the 10,701 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.5 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one has no outstanding steps listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
ARLEN SPECTER (R-PA) introduced it on April 19, 2005, and 20 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 3 Democrats, 17 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on April 19, 2005, 7862 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 7561 days ago, on February 14, 2006.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 109th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2007 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateCloture motion on the measure withdrawn by unanimous consent in Senate.
- HouseNot stated in the latest action
- PresidentNot stated in the latest action