Save Our Veterans calls on D.C. lawmakers to support FACT Act

Save Our Veterans of Indianapolis, Indiana, is speaking out in support of the Furthering Asbestos Claims Transparency Act, which concerns payouts from trust funds tied to lawsuits over illnesses from asbestos exposure.

“On behalf of the veterans whom we represent, we write to express strong support for HR 526, the Furthering Asbestos Claims Transparency (FACT) Act, which would require the various asbestos trusts in the nation to file quarterly reports with bankruptcy courts detailing who has filed a claim and how much money was paid,” Diane Martinez, vice president of operations for Save our Veterans, recently wrote in a letter to U.S. Reps. John Conyers (D-MI) and Bob Goodlatte (R-VA).

Conyers is the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, and Goodlatte is the committee's chairman.

Several veteran constituency groups are reaching out to politicians to get them to support the act. The FACT Act was introduced in January and would require asbestos bankruptcy trusts to release information on those seeking compensation due to asbestos exposure in quarterly reports, including detailed information regarding the receipt and disposition of claims for asbestos-related injuries, to help weed out fraudulent claims.

“It is our understanding that by 2010, asbestos bankruptcy trusts set up for the benefit of asbestos victims, many of whom are veterans, already had spent over $17.5 billion of the $36 billion set aside in the trusts, including up to 40 percent in plaintiffs’ lawyer fees” Martinez said in the letter.”The disturbing part is that court cases and news reports have found some of the money paid (was) for fraudulent or inflated claims.”

The bill was introduced in January by U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-TX).