    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book I)]
    [January 17, 1995]
    [Pages 58-59]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks to the Community in Roseville, California
    January 17, 1995

        Well, good afternoon, everyone. Let me say, first of all, I'm very
    glad to be here. I want to thank all of the people in this community who
    have shared their experiences with us. I'm here with Congressman
    Doolittle, Congressman Fazio, Lieutenant Governor Gray Davis, and
    members of our administration, including the Secretaries of
    Transportation Federico Pena and Housing and Urban Development Henry
    Cisneros and, of course, our ever-present FEMA Director James Lee Witt,
    who is virtually a taxpaying citizen of California, thanks to floods,
    fires, and earthquakes.
        And we've been walking around the neighborhood today, talking and
    listening to people. I want to especially thank the Hayes family and the
    Merenda family for taking me into their homes and showing me the flood
    damage and explaining in very gripping and human terms what this means
    to all of you and to your lives and your hopes and your dreams.
        I also want to thank all the people who have worked here to try to
    help put the community back together and try to help people put their
    lives back together. I'd especially like to say something about the
    young people in the California Conservation Corps. I admire that group
    so much, and they've done a lot of very, very good work. The California
    Conservation Corps receives several million dollars every year from our
    national service program. It's one of the affiliate programs. And I was
    very impressed when Richard Merenda told me that he is about to go to
    work for the California Conservation Corps in Klamath. He's going to
    work on firefighting, salmon restoration, and flood control. He's very
    well prepared for the last category now as a result of this. But I'll
    tell you, I hope he never has to come home and work on this again.
        I want to thank again all of you and especially the young people who
    worked so hard on this. Mr. Hayes told me that--I forget how many hours
    he said had already been put in by volunteers helping him with his home,
    something over 600, I think.
        I want to say a special word of appreciation to the local and the
    State officials and, of course, all the Federal officials, that we're
    trying to work efficiently together. I have heard about some of the
    things that we should be doing, and we're going to try to improve and
    try to make sure everybody knows what they're entitled to and get as
    much help as we can.
        You know, 38 of your counties have now been declared disaster areas
    as a result of the flood. We've released $10 million from FEMA last week
    for cleanup, and more than 13,000 people have registered for assistance.
    In this community, I think of the 338 or so homes that were severely
    damaged, I think there are still almost 100 people who have not yet
    registered. So we've got some work to do here, and we're going to do it.
    But of the 13,000 people who have already registered, I know that a
    couple of hundred thousand dollars in checks have already been sent out.
    So we're going to move this process along quickly and get you as much
    help as possible. I know a lot of people are living in motels or
    trailers or with friends or family and have very, very difficult short-
    term personal situations, so we're going to try to fix them.
        I'm also happy to say today that we're going to release another $15
    million in emergency funds from the Federal Highway Administration.
    Rodney Slater, the Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration,
    is here. That's a part of the Department of Transportation. We have some
    significant road damage here we're going to do our best to deal with.
    The Federal Government will pay 100 percent of the costs of the
    emergency highway repair, and we're going to try to get everybody back
    to business as quickly as possible.
        Let me say one thing on a very personal note. A lot of people have
    said to me today, ``Well, I'm glad you came out here, Mr. President.
    This is a little town, and I appreciate you taking time to come.'' But
    if you look at what we're seeing today, or you've dealt with a disaster
    beyond your control, I think I can say for everybody that came with me,
    we were deeply moved by what we saw, by the unity and the spirit in this
    community, by the devotion of people to their homes and their families,
    but especially by the devotion of people to each other.

    [[Page 59]]

        I wish I could bottle what I have seen and heard here today and
    spread it out in every community in America. We could solve about half
    the problems of this country in a very short time if I felt the kind of
    devotion and commitment everywhere that I sensed here on the streets of
    this community today. And I just want to urge you not to give up and not
    to be discouraged.
        When that earthquake hit southern California a year ago, there were
    5,600 school buildings damaged. Today, a year later, we celebrated the
    one-year anniversary; all but 40 of those buildings are open, out of
    5,600, educating kids. And that shows you what you can do if everybody
    pulls together and works together.
        I know that a lot of you have really painful stories now about work
    you've done in your home that seems to be wiped away and family
    furniture that may be lost forever and a lot of things that are a very
    important part of your past. But I would just urge you not to lose the
    optimism, the resilience, the strength that I have sensed here from all
    of you today. Don't give up. We will look at the long-term problems that
    I've been asked to look at. I know this is the second time this has
    happened in 10 years, and you're getting sick of waiting for the water
    to come every time the thunder claps overhead. So we'll look at that.
        But meanwhile, let's all pull together and work together and follow
    the lead of these fine young people and the families I had the privilege
    to visit with today.
        Thank you, and God bless you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 2:46 p.m. at the corner of Tina Way and
    Elisa Way.