To provide for the fair and efficient judicial consideration of personal injury and wrongful death claims arising out of asbestos exposure, to ensure that individuals who suffer impairment, now or in the future, from illnesses caused by exposure to asbestos receive compensation for their injuries, and for other purposes.

April 3, 2003

Mr. CANNON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

To provide for the fair and efficient judicial consideration of personal injury and wrongful death claims arising out of asbestos exposure, to ensure that individuals who suffer impairment, now or in the future, from illnesses caused by exposure to asbestos receive compensation for their injuries, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

(a) SHORT TITLE- This Act may be cited as the `Asbestos Compensation Fairness Act of 2003'.

(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS-

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2 Findings and purposes.

Sec. 3. Physical impairment.

Sec. 4. Procedures; removal.

Sec. 5. Statute of limitations; two-disease rule.

Sec. 6. Scope of liability; damages.

Sec. 7. Liability rules applicable to product sellers, renters, and lessors.

Sec. 8. Definitions.

Sec. 9. Miscellaneous provisions.

Sec. 10. Effective date.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

(a) FINDINGS- The Congress finds that--

(1) asbestos is a mineral that was widely used prior to the 1980s for insulation, fire-proofing, and other purposes;

(2) millions of American workers and others were exposed to asbestos, especially during and after World War II and prior to the advent of regulation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in the early 1970s;

(3) long-term exposure to asbestos has been associated with various types of cancer, including mesothelioma and lung cancer, as well as such nonmalignant conditions as asbestosis, pleural plaques, and diffuse pleural thickening;

(4) the diseases caused by asbestos often have long latency periods;

(5) although the use of asbestos has dramatically declined since 1980 and workplace exposures have been regulated since 1971 by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration, past exposures will continue to result in significant claims of death and disability as a result of such exposure;

(6) exposure to asbestos has created a flood of litigation in state and Federal courts that the United States Supreme Court has characterized as `an elephantine mass' of cases that `defies customary judicial administration and calls for national legislation,' Ortiz v. Fibreboard Corporation, 119 S. Ct. 2295, 2302 (1999);

(7) asbestos personal injury litigation can be unfair and inefficient, imposing a severe burden on litigants and taxpayers alike;

(8) the extraordinary volume of nonmalignant asbestos cases continues to strain state and Federal courts, with over 200,000 cases currently pending and over 50,000 new cases filed each year;

(9) asbestos personal injury litigation has already contributed to the bankruptcy of more than 60 companies, including nearly all manufacturers of asbestos textile and insulation products, and the rate of asbestos-driven bankruptcies is accelerating;

(10) the vast majority of asbestos claims are filed by individuals who allege they have been exposed to asbestos and who may have some physical sign of exposure, but who suffer no present asbestos-related impairment;

(11) the cost of compensating exposed individuals who are not sick jeopardizes the ability of defendants to compensate people with cancer and other serious asbestos-related diseases, now and in the future; threatens the savings, retirement benefits, and jobs of defendants' current and retired employees; adversely affects the communities in which these defendants operate; and impairs the national economy and interstate commerce;

(12) the several thousand asbestos-related cancer cases that are filed each year are manageable by the courts and the litigants;

(13) concerns about statutes of limitations can force claimants who have been exposed to asbestos but who have no current injury to bring premature lawsuits in order to protect against losing their rights to future compensation should they become impaired;

(14) consolidations, joinder, and similar procedures, to which some courts have resorted in order to deal with the mass of asbestos cases, can undermine the appropriate functioning of the judicial process and encourage the filing of thousands of cases by exposed individuals who are not yet sick and who may never become sick;

(15) similarly, the availability of sympathetic forums in states with no connection to the plaintiff or to the exposures that form the basis of the lawsuit has encouraged the filing of thousands of cases on behalf of exposed individuals who are not yet sick and may never become sick;

(16) excessive, unpredictable, and often arbitrary damage awards and unfair allocations of liability jeopardize the financial well-being of many individuals, businesses, and entire industries, particularly the nation's small businesses;

(17) punitive damage awards unfairly divert the resources of defendants from compensating genuinely impaired claimants and, given the lengthy history of asbestos litigation and the regulatory restrictions on the use of asbestos-containing products in the workplace, the legal justification for such awards--punishment and deterrence--is either inapplicable or inappropriate; and

(18) the public interest and the interest of interstate commerce requires deferring the claims of exposed individuals who are not sick in order to preserve, now and for the future, defendants' ability to compensate people who develop cancer and other serious asbestos-related injuries and to safeguard the jobs, benefits and savings of American workers and the well-being of the national economy.

(b) PURPOSES- It is the purpose of this Act to--

(1) give priority to those asbestos claimants who can demonstrate actual physical harm or illness caused by exposure to asbestos;

(2) fully preserve the rights of claimants who were exposed to asbestos to pursue compensation should they become impaired in the future as a result of such exposure;

(3) enhance the ability of the State and Federal judicial systems to supervise and control asbestos litigation and asbestos-related bankruptcy proceedings; and

(4) conserve the scarce resources of the defendants, and marshal assets in bankruptcy, to allow compensation of cancer victims and others who are physically impaired by exposure to asbestos while securing the right to similar compensation for those who may suffer physical impairment in the future.

SEC. 3. PHYSICAL IMPAIRMENT.

(a) IMPAIRMENT ESSENTIAL ELEMENT OF CLAIM- Physical impairment of the exposed person, to which asbestos exposure was a substantial contributing factor, shall be an essential element of an asbestos claim.

(b) PRIMA FACIE EVIDENCE OF PHYSICAL IMPAIRMENT FOR NONMALIGNANT ASBESTOS CLAIMS- No person shall bring or maintain a civil action alleging a nonmalignant asbestos claim in the absence of a prima facie showing of physical impairment as a result of a medical condition to which exposure to asbestos was a substantial contributing factor. Such a prima facie showing shall include all of the following minimum requirements:

(1) Evidence verifying that a qualified physician has taken a detailed occupational and exposure history of the exposed person or, if such person is deceased, from the person who is the most knowledgeable about the exposures that form the basis of the nonmalignant asbestos claim, including--

(A) all of the exposed person's principal places of employment and exposures to airborne contaminants; and

(B) whether each place of employment involved exposures to airborne contaminants (including but not limited to asbestos fibers or other disease causing dusts) that can cause pulmonary impairment and the nature, duration and level of any such exposure.

(2) Evidence verifying that a qualified physician has taken detailed medical and smoking history, including a thorough review of the exposed person's past and present medical problems, and their most probable cause.

(3) A determination by a qualified physician, on the basis of a medical examination and pulmonary function testing, that the exposed person has a permanent respiratory impairment rating of at least Class 2 as defined by and evaluated pursuant to the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment.

(4) A diagnosis by a qualified physician of asbestosis or diffuse pleural thickening, based at a minimum on radiological or pathological evidence of asbestosis or radiological evidence of diffuse pleural thickening.

(5) A determination by a qualified physician that asbestosis or diffuse pleural thickening (rather than solely chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is a substantial contributing factor to the exposed person's physical impairment, based at a minimum on a determination that the exposed person has--

(A) total lung capacity, by plethysmography or timed gas dilution, below the predicted lower limit of normal;

(B) forced vital capacity below the lower limit of normal and a ratio of FEV1 to FVC that is equal to or greater than the predicted lower limit of normal; or

(C) a chest x-ray showing small, irregular opacities (s,t) graded by a certified B-reader at least 2/1 on the ILO scale.

(c) PRIMA FACIE EVIDENCE OF ASBESTOS-RELATED LUNG CANCER- No person shall bring or maintain a civil action alleging an asbestos claim which is based upon lung cancer, in the absence of a prima facie showing which shall include the following minimum requirements:

(1) Diagnosis by a Board-certified pathologist, pulmonary specialist, or oncologist of a primary lung cancer and that exposure to asbestos was a substantial contributing factor to the condition.

(2) Evidence sufficient to demonstrate that at least 10 years have elapsed between the date of first exposure to asbestos and the date of diagnosis of the lung cancer.

(3) Depending on whether the exposed person has a history of smoking, the requirements of either (A) or (B) below--

(A) in the case of an exposed person who is a nonsmoker, either--

(i) radiological or pathological evidence of asbestosis or radiological evidence of diffuse pleural thickening; or

(ii) evidence of occupational exposure to asbestos for the following minimum exposure periods in the specified occupations:

(I) 5 exposure years for insulators, shipyard workers, workers in manufacturing plants handling raw asbestos, boilermakers, shipfitters, steamfitters, or other trades performing similar functions;

(II) 10 exposure years for utility and power house workers, secondary manufacturing workers, or other trades performing similar functions; or

(III) 15 exposure years for general construction, maintenance workers, chemical and refinery workers, marine engine room personnel and other personnel on vessels, stationary engineers and firemen, railroad engine repair workers, or other trades perform in similar functions;

(B) in the case of an exposed person who is a smoker, the criteria contained in both (A)(i) and (A)(ii) must be met.

(d) PRIMA FACIE EVIDENCE OF ASBESTOS-RELATED OTHER CANCER- No person shall bring or maintain a civil action alleging an asbestos claim which is based upon cancer of the colon, rectum, larynx, pharynx, esophagus, or stomach, in the absence of a prima facie showing which shall include the following minimum requirements:

(1) A diagnosis by a Board-certified pathologist, Board-certified pulmonary specialist, or Board-certified oncologist (as appropriate for the type of cancer claimed) of primary cancer of the colon, rectum, larynx, pharynx, esophagus, or stomach, and that exposure to asbestos was a substantial contributing factor to the condition.

(2) Evidence sufficient to demonstrate that at least 10 years have elapsed between the date of first exposure to asbestos and the date of diagnosis of the cancer.

(3) The requirements of either (A) or (B) below--

(A) radiological or pathological evidence of asbestosis or radiological evidence of diffuse pleural thickening;

(B) evidence of occupational exposure to asbestos for the following minimum exposure periods in the specified occupations:

(i) 5 exposure years for insulators, shipyard workers, workers in manufacturing plants handling raw asbestos, boilermakers, shipfitters, steamfitters, or other trades performing similar functions;

(ii) 10 exposure years for utility and power house workers, secondary manufacturing workers, or other trades performing similar functions; or

(iii) 15 exposure years for general construction, maintenance workers, chemical and refinery workers, marine engine room personnel and other personnel on vessels, stationary engineers and firemen, railroad engine repair workers, or other trades performing similar functions.

(e) NO PRIMA FACIE REQUIREMENT FOR MESOTHELIOMA- In a civil action alleging an asbestos claim based upon mesothelioma, no prima facie showing is required.

(f) COMPLIANCE WITH TECHNICAL STANDARDS- Evidence relating to physical impairment under this section, including pulmonary function testing and diffusing studies, shall comply with the technical recommendations for examinations, testing procedures, quality assurance/quality control, and equipment of the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment or, where the AMA Guides are silent, other authoritative standards. No adjustments with respect to pulmonary function testing shall be made on the basis of race.

(g) NO PRESUMPTION AT TRIAL- Presentation of prima facie evidence meeting the requirements of subsection (b), (c), or (d) of this section shall not--

(1) result in any presumption at trial that the exposed person is impaired by an asbestos-related condition;

(2) be conclusive as to the liability of any defendant; and

(3) be admissible at trial.

SEC. 4. PROCEDURES; REMOVAL.

(a) CONSOLIDATION- A court may consolidate for trial any number and type of asbestos claims with consent of all the parties. In the absence of such consent, the court may consolidate for trial only asbestos claims relating to the same exposed person and members of his or her household.

(b) VENUE- A civil action alleging an asbestos claim may only be brought in the State of plaintiff's domicile or a State in which there occurred exposure to asbestos that is a substantial contributing factor to the physical impairment on which the claim is based.

(c) PRELIMINARY PROCEEDINGS- The plaintiff in any civil action alleging an asbestos claim shall file together with the complaint or other initial pleading a written report and supporting test results constituting prima facie evidence of the exposed person's asbestos-related impairment meeting the requirements of subsection (b), (c), or (d) of section 3. For any asbestos claim pending on the effective date of this Act, the plaintiff shall file such a written report and supporting test results no later than 60 days following the effective date, or no later than 30 days prior to trial. The defendant shall be afforded a reasonable opportunity to challenge the adequacy of the proffered prima facie evidence of asbestos-related impairment. The plaintiff's claim shall be dismissed without prejudice upon a finding of failure to make the required prima facie showing.

(d) REMOVAL-

(1) In the event that a State court refuses or fails to apply subsections (a), (b), or (c) of this section, any party in a civil action for an asbestos claim may remove such action to a district court of the United States in accordance with chapter 89 of title 28, United States Code. The district courts of the United States shall have jurisdiction of all civil actions removed pursuant to this subsection, without regard to the amount in controversy and without regard to the citizenship or residence of the parties. Any defendant without the consent of all defendants may remove a civil action to the district court of the United States in accordance with this subsection.

(2) The district court shall remand any civil action removed solely under subsection (c) unless it finds that the State court failed to comply with procedures prescribed by law or that its failure to dismiss lacked substantial support in the record before it.

SEC. 5. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS; TWO-DISEASE RULE.

(a) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, with respect to any asbestos

claim not barred as of the effective date of this Act, the limitations period shall not begin to run until the exposed person discovers, or through the exercise of reasonable diligence should have discovered, that the he or she is physically impaired by an asbestos-related condition.

(b) TWO-DISEASE RULE- An asbestos claim arising out of a nonmalignant condition shall be a distinct cause of action from an asbestos claim relating to the same exposed person arising out of asbestos-related cancer. No damages shall be awarded for fear or risk of cancer in any civil action asserting an asbestos claim.

(c) GENERAL RELEASES FROM LIABILITY PROHIBITED- No settlement of a nonmalignant asbestos claim concluded after the date of enactment shall require, as a condition of settlement, release of any future claim for asbestos-related cancer.

SEC. 6. SCOPE OF LIABILITY; DAMAGES.

(a) PROPORTIONAL LIABILITY- A defendant against whom a final judgment is entered in a civil action alleging an asbestos claim shall be liable only for that portion of the judgment that corresponds to the percentage of responsibility of such defendant. For the purposes of determining the percentage of responsibility of a defendant, the trier-of-fact shall determine that percentage as a percentage of the total fault of all persons (including the plaintiff and those who have filed for bankruptcy protection) who are responsible for the harm to the plaintiff, regardless of whether or not such person is a party to the action. This provision shall apply only to a defendant that is found to be less than 50 percent responsible for the harm to the plaintiff. The court shall render a separate judgment against each defendant in an amount determined pursuant to this subsection.

(b) NONECONOMIC LOSS- In any civil action alleging an asbestos claim, the total amount of damages that may be awarded for noneconomic loss shall not exceed $250,000 or three times economic loss, whichever is greater, regardless of the number of parties against whom the action is brought. However, in actions involving an asbestos claim based upon mesothelioma the total amount of damages that may be awarded for noneconomic loss shall not exceed $500,000 or three times economic loss, whichever is greater.

(c) PUNITIVE DAMAGES- No punitive damages shall be awarded in any civil action alleging an asbestos claim.

(d) COLLATERAL SOURCE PAYMENTS- At the time a complaint is filed in a civil action alleging an asbestos claim, the plaintiff must file a written report with the court that discloses the total amount of any collateral source payments received, including payments which the plaintiff will receive in the future, as a result of settlements or judgments based upon the same claim. For any asbestos claim pending on the date of enactment of this Act, the plaintiff shall file such written report no later than 60 days after the date of enactment, or no later than 30 days prior to trial. Further, the plaintiff shall be required to update this report on a regular basis during the course of the proceeding until a final judgment is entered in the case. The court shall ensure that the information contained in the initial and updated reports is treated as privileged and confidential and that the contents of the written reports shall not be disclosed to anyone except the other parties to the action.

SEC. 7. LIABILITY RULES APPLICABLE TO PRODUCT SELLERS, RENTERS, AND LESSORS.

(a)(1) IN GENERAL- In any civil action alleging an asbestos claim, a product seller other than a manufacturer shall be liable to a plaintiff only if the plaintiff establishes that--

(A)(i) the product that allegedly caused the harm that is the subject of the complaint was sold, rented, or leased by the product seller;

(ii) the product seller failed to exercise reasonable care with respect to the product; and

(iii) the failure to exercise reasonable care was a proximate cause of the harm to the exposed person;

(B)(i) the product seller made an express warranty applicable to the product that allegedly caused the harm that is the subject of the complaint, independent of any express warranty made by the manufacturer as to the same product;

(ii) the product failed to conform to the warranty; and

(iii) the failure of the product to conform to the warranty caused the harm to the exposed person; or

(C)(i) the product seller engaged in intentional wrongdoing, as determined under applicable State law; and

(ii) the intentional wrongdoing caused the harm that is the subject of the complaint.

(2) REASONABLE OPPORTUNITY FOR INSPECTION- For the purposes of paragraph (1)(A)(i), a product seller shall not be considered to have failed to exercise reasonable care with respect to a product based upon an alleged failure to inspect the product, if--

(A) the failure occurred because there was no reasonable opportunity to inspect the product; or

(B) the inspection, in the exercise of reasonable care, would not have revealed the aspect of the product that allegedly caused the exposed person's impairment.

(b) RENTED OR LEASED PRODUCTS- In any civil action alleging an asbestos claim, a person engaged in the business of renting or leasing a product shall not be liable for the tortious act of another solely by reason of ownership of that product.

SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:

(1) AMA GUIDES TO THE EVALUATION OF PERMANENT IMPAIRMENT- The term `AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment' means the American Medical Association's Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (Fifth Edition 2000) as may be modified from time to time by the American Medical Association.

(2) ASBESTOS- The term `asbestos' includes all minerals defined as `asbestos' in 29 CFR 1910 as amended from time to time.

(3) ASBESTOS CLAIM- The term `asbestos claim' means any claim for damages or other relief presented in a civil action or bankruptcy proceeding, arising out of, based on, or related to the health effects of exposure to asbestos, including loss of consortium and any other derivative claim made by or on behalf of any exposed person or any representative, spouse, parent, child or other relative of any exposed person. The term does not include claims for benefits under a workers' compensation law or veterans' benefits program, or claims brought by any person as a subrogee by virtue of the payment of benefits under a workers' compensation law.

(4) ASBESTOSIS- The term `asbestosis' means bilateral diffuse interstitial fibrosis of the lungs caused by inhalation of asbestos fibers.

(5) BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDING- The term `bankruptcy proceeding' means a case brought under title 11, United State Code, or any related proceeding as provided in section 157 of title 28, United States Code.

(6) CERTIFIED B-READER- The term `certified B-reader' means an individual qualified as a `final' or `B-reader' under 42 CFR 37.51(b) as amended.

(7) CIVIL ACTION- The term `civil action' means all suits or claims of a civil nature in State or Federal court, whether cognizable as cases at law or in equity or in admiralty, including an asbestos claim in a bankruptcy proceeding. The term does not include an action relating to any workers' compensation law, or a proceeding for benefits under any veterans' benefits program.

(8) ECONOMIC LOSS- The term `economic loss' means any pecuniary loss resulting from physical impairment, including the loss of earnings or other benefits related to employment, medical expense loss, replacement services loss, loss due to death, burial costs, and loss of business or employment opportunities.

(9) EXPOSED PERSON- The term `exposed person' means any person whose exposure to asbestos or to asbestos-containing products is the basis for an asbestos claim.

(10) EXPOSURE YEARS- The term `exposure years' means--

(A) each single year of exposure prior to 1972 will be counted as one year;

(B) each single year of exposure from 1972 through 1979 will be counted as one-half year;

(C) exposure after 1979 will not be counted, except that each year from 1972 forward for which the plaintiff can establish exposure exceeding the OSHA limit for 8-hour time-weighted average airborne concentration for a substantial portion of the year will count as one year.

(11) FEV1- The term `FEV1' means forced expiratory volume in the first second, which is the maximal volume of air expelled in one second during performance of simple spirometric tests.

(12) FVC- The term `FVC' means forced vital capacity which is the maximal volume of air expired with maximum effort from a position of full inspiration.

(13) ILO SCALE- The term `ILO Scale' means the system for the classification of chest x-rays set forth in the International Labour Office's Guidelines for the Use of ILO International Classification of Radiographs of Pneumoconioses (1980) as amended from time to time by the International Labour Office.

(14) LUNG CANCER- The term `lung cancer' means a malignant tumor located inside of the lungs, but such term does not include an asbestos claim based upon mesothelioma.

(15) MESOTHELIOMA- The term `mesothelioma' means a malignant tumor with a primary site in the pleura or the peritoneum, which has been diagnosed by a Board-certified pathologist, using standardized and accepted criteria of microscopic morphology and/or appropriate staining techniques.

(16) NONECONOMIC LOSS- The term `noneconomic loss' means subjective, nonmonetary loss resulting from physical impairment, including pain, suffering, inconvenience, mental anguish, emotional distress, disfigurement, loss of society and companionship, loss of consortium, injury to reputation, or any other nonpecuniary loss of any kind or nature.

(17) NONMALIGNANT CONDITION- The term `nonmalignant condition' means any condition that is caused or may be caused by asbestos other than a diagnosed cancer.

(18) NONSMOKER- The term `nonsmoker' means the exposed person has not smoked cigarettes or used any other tobacco products within the last 15 years.

(19) PATHOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF ASBESTOSIS- The term `pathological evidence of asbestosis' means a statement by a Board-certified pathologist that more than one representative section of lung tissue uninvolved with any other disease process demonstrates a pattern of peribronchiolar or

parenchymal scarring in the presence of characteristic asbestos bodies and that there is no other more likely explanation for the presence of the fibrosis.

(20) PREDICTED LOWER LIMIT OF NORMAL- The term `predicted lower limit of normal' for any test means the fifth percentile of healthy populations based on age, height, and gender, as referenced in the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment.

(21) PUNITIVE DAMAGES- The term `punitive damages' means damages awarded against a defendant in order to punish or deter such defendant or others from engaging in similar behavior in the future.

(22) QUALIFIED PHYSICIAN- The term `qualified physician' means a medical doctor, who--

(A) is a Board-certified internist, oncologist, pathologist, pulmonary specialist, radiologist, or specialist in occupational and environmental medicine;

(B) is actually treating or treated the exposed person, and has or had a doctor-patient relationship with such person;

(C) spends no more than 10 percent of his/her professional practice time in providing consulting or expert services in connection with actual or potential civil actions, and whose medical group, professional corporation, clinic, or other affiliated group earns not more than 20 percent of their revenues from providing such services;

(D) is currently licensed to practice and actively practices in the State where the plaintiff resides or where the plaintiff's civil action was filed; and

(E) receives or received payment for the treatment of the exposed person from that person's health maintenance organization or other medical provider.

(23) RADIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF ASBESTOSIS- The term `radiological evidence of asbestosis' means a chest x-ray showing small, irregular opacities (s,t) graded by a certified B-reader as at least 1/1 on the ILO scale.

(24) RADIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF DIFFUSE PLEURAL THICKENING- The term `radiological evidence of diffuse pleural thickening' means a chest x-ray showing bilateral pleural thickening of at least B2 on the ILO scale and blunting of at least one costophrenic angle.

(25) SMOKER- The term `smoker' means a person who has smoked cigarettes or used other tobacco products within the last 15 years.

(26) STATE- The term `State' means any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and any other territory or possession of the United States or any political subdivision of any of the foregoing.

(27) SUBSTANTIAL CONTRIBUTING FACTOR- The term `substantial contributing factor' means--

(A) exposure to asbestos is the predominate cause of the physical impairment alleged in the asbestos claim;

(B) the exposure to asbestos took place on a regular basis over an extended period of time and in close proximity to the exposed person; and

(C) a qualified physician has determined with a reasonable degree of medical certainly that the physical impairment of the exposed person would not have occurred but for the asbestos exposures.

(28) VETERANS' BENEFITS PROGRAM- The term `veterans' benefits program' means any program for benefits in connection with military service administered by the Veterans' Administration under title 38, United States Code.

(29) WORKERS' COMPENSATION LAW- The term `workers' compensation law' means a law respecting a program administered by a State or the United States to provide benefits, funded by a responsible employer or its insurance carrier, for occupational diseases or injuries or for disability or death caused by occupational diseases or injuries. The term includes the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (33 U.S.C. 901-944, 948-950), and chapter 81 of title 5, United States Code (known as the Federal Employees Compensation Act), but does not include the Act of April 22, 1908 (45 U.S.C. 51 et seq.) (popularly referred to as the `Federal Employers' Liability Act').

SEC. 9. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.

(a) CONSTRUCTION WITH OTHER LAWS- This Act shall not be construed to affect the scope or operation of any workers' compensation law or veterans' benefit program, to affect the exclusive remedy or subrogation provisions of any such law, or to authorize any lawsuit which is barred by any such provision of law.

(b) CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY- The Constitutional authority for this Act is contained in article I, section 8, clause 3 of the Constitution of the United States and in article lII, section 1 of the Constitution of the United States.

SEC. 10. EFFECTIVE DATE.

This Act shall be effective on the date of the enactment of this Act and apply to any civil action asserting an asbestos claim in which trial has not commenced as of the date of the enactment of this Act.

END