U.S. Senate Defeats Cloture Motion on Asbestos Trust Fund Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Senate has voted not to end debate over a bill that would establish a $124 billion trust fund to pay all pending and future asbestos-related personal injury claims.

Senators today voted 50 to 47 to defeat a cloture motion filed Tuesday by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn. Invoking cloture would have allowed the Senate to move one step closer to a final vote on S. 2290, which Sen. Frist introduced earlier this month. The measure would take all asbestos claims out of the tort system.

The vote to defeat Sen. Frist's cloture motion was …