I'd like to thank Chairman Dominici for holding this hearing today on the implementation of the Energy Employees Occupational Illnesses Compensation Program Act.

Well, how can you get the claims processed with no understanding on the other end as to how you are going to make the payment?

Is the DOE defending its physicians panel determinations when they are challenged by insurance companies, and if not why not?

I think certainly Senator Bunning and myself are in total agreement that it is not working, we have got to figure out a way to fix it.

I appreciate that. Thank you.

The findings of the Hays Group further reinforce the need to move claims processing from the Department of Energy to the Department of Labor.

These workers and their survivors are entitled to far better treatment then many of them have endured.

This goes back to our discussion about resolving the willing payor issue.

It seems like what we are doing is we are setting people up here and giving them some hope...

So this goes back to your opening statement, when you said we need to communicate what our program is all about...

U. S. Senator Lisa Murkowski and Congressman Don Young from Alaska have both asked Secretary Abraham to resolve the willing payor issue.

I might suggest that I do not believe it was Congress's intent that we just run people through a bureaucratic nightmare just so that they can say we processed their claims.

the importance of this issue led me to co-sponsor the Grassley-Murkowski amendment.

I hope that the committee is beginning to understand the frustration I've experienced.

In many cases we have had Alaskans dying while waiting for their claims to be resolved.

This is simply unacceptable. Let me repeat--this is unacceptable.

I was assured [by DOE] that the contractor would be notified and asked to accept primary liability for my claim and would also be asked not to raise any affirmative defenses in my case.

This amendment is intended to address one of the two major failures in the implementation of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Act.