Asbestos interests associated with Honeywell, Koch Industries, Allstate, Nationwide and other profitable, well-known companies have poured more than $3 million into the campaign accounts of 19 members of Congress who sit on the House Judiciary Committee.

As it happens, all 19 recently voted for a piece of legislation sought by these corporations.

The bill, authored by Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Tex., is called the FACT Act (H.R. 526). If passed, the bill would harm veterans, put people at risk of identity theft and slow down or deny compensating victims of asbestos disease.

The FACT Act, if passed, would mandate online disclosure of asbestos victims’ personal information, including medical records and work history, and could include much more information, including at least partial social security numbers, given the few limitations in the bill. Privacy experts have said such extensive disclosure would expose them to identity theft and make them prey for con artists and hucksters.

The bill would allow companies fighting asbestos claims to file an unlimited number of document demands with the asbestos compensation trusts. Deep-pocketed, lawyered-up corporations such as Koch Industries and Honeywell could burn up precious resources meant for victims, not paperwork pushing.

Roughly a third of all victims of mesothelioma – a lethal form of cancer caused by asbestos – are veterans. The reason: millions of American service members were exposed to asbestos during the military’s decades-long use of the heat-resistant substance.

My colleagues at EWG Action Fund examined federal campaign documents to see how much each member of Congress who voted for the FACT Act received from asbestos industry PACs and executives and high-level employees of the companies.

House Judiciary Committee members who received significant campaign contributions from asbestos interests include:

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Tex.) $382,150

Rep. Darryl Issa (R-Calif.) 372,329

Rep. Virgil Goodlatte (R-Va) $300,879

Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va) $ 286,285

Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Tex.) $239,250

You can find the full analysis here:

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EWG Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) organization that is a separate sister organization of the Environmental Working Group. The mission of EWG Action Fund is to protect health and the environment by educating the public and lobbying on a wide range of environmental issues. Donations to EWG Action Fund are not tax-deductible.