Pete Domenici: “let me say from the very beginning of this discussion today, it has been a real pleasure to work with Senator Bingaman…”

“let me say from the very beginning of this discussion today, it has been a real pleasure to work with Senator Bingaman and his staff--and I hope that is mutual--on putting together a bill that we are going to introduce today. It is our best effort to put together a bill that permits the citizens of Los Alamos, the people who reside there, whose houses or personal property were damaged or destroyed, and businesses that existed, owned either by corporations or individuals--the damage they might have suffered. This is just a partial list. I will read the list before we leave the floor. This is an effort to compensate the Indian people for similar losses. Mr. President, since May 4, 2000, it is now known that the National Park Service started a forest fire, a so-called prescribed burn, at Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico. That was done during the height of the fire season and, regrettably, as everyone now knows, that fire, which was expected to be a controlled burn by the Park Service in Bandelier National Park, was not able to be controlled by those who were called in to control it. The fire went right down the mountainside, ended up burning down the forest and parts of the community of Los Alamos. The fire destroyed more than 425 residences.”