Senate Leaders Agree to Reopen Asbestos Talks-Halliburton Bailout?

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U.S. Senate leaders agree to reopen asbestos talks

WASHINGTON, April 21 (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Majority leader Bill Frist and Senate Minority leader Tom Daschle have agreed to reopen negotiations for a bipartisan bill to set up a fund to compensate asbestos victims, aides said on Wednesday.

The current asbestos legislation, a rewrite of a measure introduced last year by Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch, would end asbestos lawsuits and instead establish a fund of up to $124 billion to compensate those sickened by exposure to the fibrous mineral.

Leading Democrats said earlier this month that they opposed the proposal, joining labor leaders who say it is inadequate to pay the claims of victims of asbestos exposure.

Companies have paid an estimated $70 billion on some 730,000 asbestos personal injury claims, making it the most expensive type of litigation in U.S. history, according to the RAND Institute for Civil Justice.

http://www.forbes.com/business/healthcare/newswire/2004/04/21/rtr1341771.html

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Halliburton bankrupts own units-
Halliburton has put two of its businesses into bankruptcy as the oil and construction company prepares to settle asbestos claims.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3328481.stm

Halliburton settles asbestos claims
The US oil services firm agrees to pay $4bn to settle a rash of asbestos-related compensation claims.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2589117.stm
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Claims threaten Halliburton settlement

By Mike Crissey
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Thursday, August 14, 2003

More than 70,000 new asbestos claims against Halliburton Co. in the past six months may outstrip the almost $2.8 billion in cash set aside to settle the claims, the company warned in a filing to federal officials.

In a report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday, Houston-based Halliburton said asbestos claims rose to 425,000 as of June 30, up from 347,000 in December when it agreed to a settlement worth about $4 billion in cash and stock.

Halliburton inherited most of the claims four years ago when the oilfield services, engineering and construction conglomerate once led by Vice President Dick Cheney acquired Dresser Industries Inc. for $7.7 billion. The Dresser acquisition was overseen by Cheney before he left in 2000 to become President Bush's running mate.

Halliburton agreed to put its DII Industries unit under bankruptcy supervision to help pay the settlement, which includes about $2.775 billion in cash and 59.5 million shares of stock currently worth about $1.4 billion.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/business/s_149611.html

Me Book

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1. Cheney's five years at the helm of Halliburton

The burgeoning asbestos problem has caused critics to question the hallmark of Cheney's five years at the helm of Halliburton: the $7.7 billion acquisition of rival Dresser Industries Inc. in 1998.

The deal doubled Halliburton's size overnight and allowed it to claim it was the world's leading oilfield-services company. But most of Halliburton's current asbestos claims were inherited from Dresser.

Lesar said Halliburton investigated Dresser's asbestos liability before the acquisition. The company just didn't count on a surge in asbestos claims, which he blamed on the bankruptcy of other asbestos defendants, leaving Halliburton as a tempting target.

http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2002/09/02/fin_cheney_left.html

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2. DEJAVU ?? ALL OVER AGAIN

When you think about it the lack of foresight by cheney in the dresser industries acquisition mess is not unlike that that seems to be threatening to overwhelm the iraq situation

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3. Flashback

Dick Cheney and the giant energy company he will leave to run for vice president have contributed more than $150,000 to members of Congress who sponsored legislation that would limit the ability of workers to sue companies for asbestos exposure.

Halliburton's political action committees and Cheney contributed $494,452 to congressional candidates from 1997 through mid-2000. Of that, $157,500 went to members of Congress who co-sponsored the asbestos legislation -- 59 Republicans and four Democrats. (See list of contributions)

Cheney, as an individual, donated $12,500 to members who sponsored or co-sponsored the asbestos bills.

The contributions from Cheney and the political action committees of Halliburton and its subsidiaries went to 49 of the 77 lawmakers who co-sponsored the Fairness in Asbestos Compensation Act in the House of Representatives and 14 of 29 co-sponsors of similar legislation in the Senate.

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines/080400-02.htm