[House Document 105-355]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]




105th Congress, 2nd Session - - - - - - - - - - House Document, 105-355


 
    EMERGENCY APPROPRIATIONS FOR DAMAGE CAUSED BY HURRICANE GEORGES

                               __________

                             COMMUNICATION

                                  from

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              transmitting

 FROM THE PRESIDENT, REQUESTING EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS 
FOR THE REPAIR OF DAMAGE CAUSED BY HURRICANE GEORGES, PURSUANT TO PUB. 
                               L. 105-277




  December 19, 1998.--Referred to the Committee on Appropriations and 
                         ordered to be printed

                               --------

                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
69-012                     WASHINGTON : 1998




                                           The White House,
                                     Washington, December 17, 1998.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives.
    Sir: In accordance with provisions of P.L. 105-277, the 
Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations 
Act, 1999, I hereby request the following:

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers--Civil:
    Operation and maintenance, general..................     $99,700,000
    Flood control, Mississippi River and tributaries....       2,500,000

    These funds will help repair damage caused by Hurricane 
Georges, which resulted in navigation problems in Alabama, 
Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin 
Islands.
    I hereby designate the above requests as emergency 
requirements pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced 
Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended.
    The details of these actions are set forth in the enclosed 
letter from the Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget. I concur with his comments and observations.
            Sincerely,
                                                William J. Clinton.
    Enclosure.



                 Executive Office of the President,
                           Office of Management and Budget,
                                 Washington, DC, December 17, 1998.
The President,
The White House.
    Submitted for your consideration are requests to make 
available emergency appropriations for the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers. Your approval of these requests would make available 
previously appropriated funds to repair damage caused by 
Hurricane Georges.
    P.L. 105-277, the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency 
Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999, provided a total of 
$102.2 million for the Corps of Engineers, contingent upon the 
President submitting a budget request to the Congress and 
designating the entire amount requested as an emergency 
requirement. None of these funds have yet been designated as an 
emergency requirement and made available.
    These requests would make the entire $102.2 million 
available to help the Corps of Engineers restore harbors and 
navigational channels to their authorized depths in Alabama, 
Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin 
Islands. This restoration will allow these regions and the 
Nation to realize the economic benefits of these harbors by 
returning them to their full level of commercial activity.
    I recommend that you designate the amounts listed on the 
enclosure as emergency requirements in accordance with section 
251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit 
Control Act of 1985, as amended. No further congressional 
action will be required.
    I have carefully reviewed this proposal and am satisfied 
that it is necessary at this time. Therefore, I join the 
Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works in recommending 
that you make the requested funds available by signing the 
enclosed letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
            Sincerely,
                                              Jacob J. Lew,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

    Emergency Appropriations: Amounts Previously Appropriated Made 
                       Available by the President

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers--Civil:
    Operations and maintenance, general.................     $99,700,000
    Flood control, Mississippi River and tributaries....       2,500,000

    Public Law 105-277, the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency 
Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999, provided a total of 
$102,200,000 to the Corps of Engineers, contingent upon the 
President submitting a budget request to the Congress and 
designating the entire amount requested as an emergency 
requirement. None of these funds have yet been designated as an 
emergency requirement and made available.
    The entire $102,200,000 in contingent funding is required 
to repair damage caused by Hurricane Georges. These resources 
will allow the Corps of Engineers to dredge harbors and 
navigation channels to their authorized depths so that these 
harbors can be returned to their full levels of commercial 
activity. This will allow the Nation and the States of Alabama, 
Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi, as well as Puerto Rico and 
the Virgin Islands, to realize the full economic benefits of 
these harbors.

                                
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