Trent Lott: “I might say that I am from a State that has been disaster prone, and I know that Senator Daschle's area has had all…”

“I might say that I am from a State that has been disaster prone, and I know that Senator Daschle's area has had all kinds of problems this year--drought, flooding, freezing flooding, the works. We have had similar problems in my State, from droughts to floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, freezing rain, which have caused terrible devastation. So I am sympathetic to the problem. However, this is asking for a change in the law that has been in place since 1968. Clearly, my constituents and the constituents all over America that have had to deal with disasters have complied with and have dealt with this 30-day requirement of the insurance coverage versus 15 days. Regardless of that, I think it is something we should consider. But we have just recently been aware of the language of the Senator from South Dakota in this area. We need to assess whether there is objection to it. Will there be a budget impact? What does it mean for people that had to deal with it in the past or will in the future? We are checking with the chairmen of the Budget Committee, the Banking Committee, and the Finance Committee. I think we should not leap to do it until we know for sure exactly what the impact would be. Again, I do think we should work with each other in a bipartisan way, always, when disasters are involved. But as good stewards of our constituents, we need to make sure we understand the ramifications, too.”