Judd Gregg: “we will sometime later today be getting a supplemental request in the Senate to continue to fund the needs of the relief…”

“we will sometime later today be getting a supplemental request in the Senate to continue to fund the needs of the relief effort in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, which will be approximately $50 billion on top of the $10 billion that has already been spent. Obviously, it is essential that we get these dollars down there and put them to use aggressively in order to try to help the people who are in such dire straits, and to try to begin to bring some order and some relief to those who have suffered so much. As we proceed in this effort, we should err on the side of making sure that we get the dollars there quickly in order to support these individuals who are in such dire straits, and to try to assist this part of the country that has been hit by this catastrophic event. But in the process, I think it is important that we have some fiscal oversight that allows us to feel comfortable that the dollars that are being spent are going effectively, quickly, and aggressively to relief efforts which are legitimate and appropriate. Thus, I congratulate the House of Representatives for putting in the supplemental and identifying within the supplemental $15 million which will be assigned to the Inspector General's Office to start to put in place the auditing process and the oversight process on how the money is being spent, which I believe is critical. We have seen some issues which obviously, if they are pursued logically, make sense.…”