Anti-asbestos victims legislation in the Senate, backed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and major corporations and insurance companies, was met with a thud this week at a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency Act, or the so-called FACT Act (S. 357), would deplete the resources of already-dwindling trust funds set aside to compensate asbestos victims. Adding insult to injury, the measure would also require online disclosure of victims’ personal information, such as medical conditions and partial Social Security numbers, placing victims at heightened risk of falling prey to cyber criminals.

The hearing room was packed with victims and their families as well as representatives from leading veterans’ organizations. They and others watched as proponents of the bill strained to convince senators why putting asbestos victims at greater risk of online ID theft and other privacy violations was needed to give asbestos corporations a leg up in litigation against the very people they poisoned. A number of Senators, including Richard Durbin (D-Ill), Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) weren’t buying it, and repeatedly poked holes in the asbestos industry’s arguments. You can watch the entire hearing here.

Groups representing many different sectors of the population, including those who are disproportionately impacted by the deadly diseases caused from asbestos, have come out in opposition to the bill.

Those groups include:

• International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF): Fire fighters are 2 times as likely to die from mesothelioma than the general population, according to recent research by the federal National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
• AFSCME: Our public buildings, particularly schools, are plagued by aging infrastructure that is often contaminated with asbestos and asbestos containing products, placing public employees at greater risk of exposure.
• AFL-CIO: Construction workers are also twice as likely to die from asbestos-triggered disease than most Americans due to the heavy use of asbestos in many products used in building materials.
• National Education Association (NEA): Research has shown elementary teachers bear an outsize burden of asbestos disease. Virtually all of the nation’s schools built before 1980 contain asbestos, and the slightest renovations can lead to complete closure due to asbestos exposure.
• Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO): As the nation’s leading group advocating for the interests of victims and their families, ADAO works tirelessly to educate the American people about the ongoing threats asbestos still poses.
• Seventeen national veterans organizations: The military relied heavily on asbestos for its heat-resistant and fireproofing properties for decades. It was widely used in ships, tanks, planes and other military vehicles. After leaving the service, many veterans then took jobs in manufacturing industries where they were exposed to asbestos again.

While veterans only make up about 8 percent of the population, they account for 30 percent of all mesothelioma victims. The organizations, which combined represent roughly 1 million United States Veterans, that have come out against the FACT Act include:

• Air Force Sergeants Association(AFSA)
• Air Force Women Officers Associated(AFWOA)
• American Veterans(AMVETS)
• Association of the United States Navy(AUSN)
• Commissioned Officers Association of the US Public Health Service
• Fleet Reserve Association(FRA)
• Jewish War Veterans of the USA(JWV)
• Marine Corps Reserve Association(MCRA)
• Military Officers Association of America(MOAA)
• Military Order of the Purple Heart(MOPH)
• National Association for Uniformed Services(NAUS)
• National Defense Council
• Naval Enlisted Reserve Association(NERA)
• The Retired Enlisted Association(TREA)
•  Coast Guard Chief Petty Officers Association
• Army Warrant Officers Association
• Vietnam Veterans of America(VVA)

Other groups that oppose the measure include the Alliance for Justice; Public Citizen; the American Association for Justice; Center for Justice and Democracy; National Consumers League; OpenGovernment.org; U.S. PIRG; Consume Action; Constitutional Alliance; Consumer Action; Consumer Watchdog; and the National Association of Consumer Advocates.

The House considered similar legislation on January 8, when 16 Republicans joined all of the House Democrats to vote against H.R. 1927. The number of Republicans who opposed the bill this year more than doubled from the vote cast on the same measure during the previous Congress.