Asbestos Legislation Could Be Terrorism's Latest Victim

icAendics Congress scrambles to deal with issues of national security, introduction of a comprehensive asbestos bill has become an afterthought. In just six months, the prospects for introduction of a comprehensive Congressional plan to corral the nation's longest-running mass tort has gone from probable to dismal.

Despite word of a possible break in what has become a perennial tug-of-war between asbestos defendants and trial counsel on Capitol Hill, both sides appear no closer than they were a half year ago to putting an agreement on the table.

Optimism among supporters of a comprehensive asbestos bill peaked in the initial …