US President George W Bush urged Congress last night to curb asbestos litigation he said was putting too many US companies out of business and charged that frivolous lawsuits were harming the economy.
Limiting litigation is one of Mr Bush's top economic priorities for his second term, along with adding private accounts to the Social Security retirement system and overhauling the tax code.
Corporate America has long sought legal reform, saying businesses are being hurt by runaway lawsuits. Opponents say many legal reform efforts are aimed at protecting special interests such as companies with asbestos liabilities.
"The system's not fair," Bush told a forum in Clinton Township, a Detroit suburb. "It's not fair to those who have been harmed. It's not fair to those who are trying to employ people."
The president said the lawsuits were hurting victims of asbestos-related illness because bankruptcies by companies resulting from claims lacking merit were leaving those with valid claims nowhere to turn for compensation.
The issue of asbestos lawsuits is a concern for Detroit's automakers, which have been sued by people who worked around brake parts with asbestos fibers.
Halliburton, the company Vice President Dick Cheney used to head up, said this week that it had completed a $4.2 billion asbestos settlement.
Asbestos is a fire-resistant mineral fiber once widely used in building materials. Scientists say inhaled fibers are linked to cancer and other illnesses.