In what has become an almost farcical endeavour, the slow-moving $US140 billion asbestos compensation fund bill is creeping closer to the Senate floor, where it needs to be debated before it can be passed and enacted.

It’s not the bill that anyone really wants, but it will be about the best that industries with conflicting needs can achieve. Insurers want a manageable settlement, and lawyers want the money. With a strong hold on the minority Republican Party, plaintiff lawyers have been able to thwart any suggestion of a bill that might aim all funding purely at asbestos victims.

Republican senators led by Pennsylvania’s Arlen Specter have been trying to get the bill up for debate before the month-long August recess begins next week. No such luck.

Senator Specter, who is co-sponsoring the bill, told a news conference the new delay is through no fault of his. “It has been postponed, but not by me,” he said – which means he has been out-heavied by the Senate machine.

Democratic Party leader Harry Reid, who opposes the bill, never wanted it brought forward until September, anyway. “It’s ridiculous to contemplate bringing up such a controversial measure in the short time before the Senate’s August recess,” he said.