Pete Domenici: “I once again thank Senator Bingaman. Part of the time these discussions were taking place in New Mexico, I was not…”

“I once again thank Senator Bingaman. Part of the time these discussions were taking place in New Mexico, I was not available to be there. As most people in New Mexico know, I have been there twice, but I missed one occasion when Senator Bingaman got to talk with the people. I thank him for that because he brought back a number of ideas. One of my staffers was present with him. Those ideas are incorporated in this legislation. In particular, let me repeat that the bill covers 'loss of property,' and it says what that means; 'business losses,' and it says what that means; 'financial losses,' and it says what that means. Then a 'summary of the claims process' and a summary of the remedies and a summary of appeal rights. The lead agency is going to be the Office of Cerro Grande Fire Claims within FEMA. James Lee Witt or his successor will oversee that office but has the discretionary authority to designate an independent claims manager to run the office, if he so desires. We are not creating anything new, it will be FEMA. But if he wants an independent claims manager, he has the latitude and authority to do that. There will be a separate account for the victims of the Cerro Grande fire that will be separate from the disaster assistance fund. Also, all of the money appropriated will be designated as an emergency. I want to thank the staff who worked on this legislation.”