I'm pleased to be joined by my colleague Senator Burns, who I know shares my concern for the people of Libby.
And I'm delighted to see so many familiar faces. Also, I'd like to make a special welcome to all of our witnesses. John Konzen, Rita Windom, Brad Black, Ron Anderson, Tony Berget, George Bauer, good to see you. Mark Simonich, Dr. Todd Damrow thank you for being here.
And Bill Yellowtail and Dr. Henry Falk, we really appreciate your traveling the distance to be here. It means a lot to me. And it means a lot to the citizens of Libby.
Libby has been in the spotlight lately. There's no doubt about that. But attention from senior officials who are committed to taking concrete steps to give some relief to this community: that's the kind of attention we desperately need.
This is a rare opportunity, having in one room key representatives from city, county, state and federal agencies, working toward a common goal.
One of the main goals of this hearing is to help ensure that the citizens of this community get the assistance they deserve, for as long as they need.
The two top priorities are to determine if the health of the people of Libby is threatened by continuing exposure to asbestos. If it is, steps must be taken to eliminate that threat to the maximum extent possible. And we must ensure that whatever cleanup is needed is performed quickly so this community can have a clean bill of health.
The other priority is to provide support for those who suffer from asbestos related illnesses, including screening and treatment, as well as public education.
I look forward to hearing from our witnesses what steps have been taken, and what is planned for the future, to address these priorities. I particularly want to learn how the work is being coordinated between all of the different agencies at the federal, state and local levels.
That includes how the agencies are communicating with the citizens getting input from the community and keeping citizens accurately informed as information becomes available.
And, I hope to hear from the witnesses of Lincoln County and Libby their perspectives on whether the community's needs are being or will be met by steps that have been taken or are planned.
So far I've heard mostly positive things about the coordination between the local, state and federal personnel. I know it takes work to keep on track. Everyone has a lot on their minds. More than we can address at a single hearing.
I have heard from many of you about feelings of helplessness, anger, confusion and guilt, to name just a few. Each has a place.
But I believe that with the commitment of so many dedicated people, the work can stay on track.
Because that is, after all, the purpose of this hearing to ensure that the people of Libby and the community get the assistance they need to meet their needs.
Here's how we'll proceed. We have three panels of witnesses. First, officials from Lincoln County and Libby. Second, representatives of the State of Montana. Third, the federal government.
Witnesses on the first panel will make remarks of up to about five minutes each. Then I'll ask some questions of the panel. The same for the second and third panels.
After the third panel has finished with questions, witnesses from Libby and Lincoln County will have a chance to ask any questions they may have about what they heard from the other panels.
Then, if there is time, a few people who have not testified may ask questions to clarify issues that were discussed in previous testimony. With that, I will welcome our first panel.