Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, the Defense Authorization Act of 2001, which was actually signed into law in the fall of 2000 by President Clinton, included the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act, EEOICPA, which we wrote and passed to compensate workers who became ill as a result of their work in the Department of Energy facilities across the country. There are nine major sites affected, and I represent Oak Ridge, Tennessee, which handles the largest number of affected workers in the country. This is a critical issue for many of us, and we have been very involved for a number of years. The Department of Energy has had definite problems administering the program, and some of those programs are brought about by statutory issues that need to be remedied. Part B of this program is actually administered by the Department of Labor, and people affected qualify for $150,000 lump-sum payments. That has gone relatively smooth. But part D of this program is the DOE portion, and we have had numerous problems identified under subtitle B relative to the claims process, a lack of communication, long delays, et cetera. Now, the GAO, which we need to listen to in this case, has made recommendations for changes to the Department of Energy. The Department of Energy has made rules changes, but we now need statutory changes. And that is what this amendment actually addresses, three issues that cannot be done by rules.”