    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book I)]
    [May 24, 1997]
    [Pages 653-655]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    May 24, 1997

        Good morning. This past week, the House and the Senate voted by
    overwhelming bipartisan majorities to endorse an historic, bipartisan
    agreement to balance the Federal budget by

    [[Page 654]]

    2002. This agreement brings us closer to putting our fiscal house in
    order, and it represents a huge downpayment toward America's future
    prosperity.
        Already, our economy is the envy of the world. In the last 4 years,
    it's created 12 million new jobs. We've had the highest economic growth
    in a decade, the lowest unemployment in 24 years, the lowest inflation
    in 30 years, the largest decline in income inequality since the 1960's.
    The deficit has been cut already by 77 percent, thanks to the historic
    1993 budget and economic package passed by the Congress at that time.
        And now, with a balanced budget agreement, our economy can continue
    to thrive. We'll balance our books while we protect Medicare and
    Medicaid, invest in education and environmental protection, and give our
    people a tax cut. It's a balanced budget that's in balance with our
    values. Now I urge all Members of Congress of both parties to take the
    next step, to finish the job and write this agreement into law.
        This is a proud moment. Our balanced budget agreement shows what we
    can accomplish when we work together, across party lines, in the
    interest of the American people. This is how our Government should work.
        But today I have to talk about an example of how it should not work
    and how it's not working. Our Government is not working for our citizens
    in the Dakotas and Minnesota, who are still waiting for the Congress to
    act so that they can begin the long road back from the floods that
    destroyed their homes and devastated their lives.
        Tens of thousands of people suffered losses in these floods. Now
    they're trying to reclaim their lives and their communities. But they
    can't do it alone. Some have depended on the kindness of neighbors they
    didn't even know. The town of Thompson, North Dakota, doubled its
    population when residents opened their homes and their churches and took
    in 1,000 people from flooded Grand Forks, 11 miles away. Private
    citizens became angels, volunteering and donating everything from
    essential supplies to evening dresses, so that a flooded high school
    could still have its prom. One woman quietly donated millions of dollars
    for distribution to victims.
        All that is welcome help. But recovering from a large natural
    disaster takes more; it takes the combined resources of our Nation. That
    was the only way back after the earthquakes and fires in California, the
    flooding in the Mississippi Valley and the Pacific Northwest, the
    tornadoes in the South, the hurricanes in Florida. Right now, people in
    33 States need some degree of disaster assistance. Just imagine being in
    their shoes, having your life's work swept away, your home gone, often
    in an instant. Think of your concern for your family and your home.
    That's why we need quick and effective governmental action, from rescue
    efforts by the National Guard to financial and other assistance from our
    Federal agencies. They've all done well by our people, and I am
    especially proud of the work of our Federal Emergency Management Agency,
    FEMA, and its Director, James Lee Witt. Now FEMA is a model for
    responding to disasters. When I took office, it was often criticized;
    now I think it's the most often complimented Federal agency.
        After I visited North Dakota with the congressional delegation,
    including the Senators from North Dakota, Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan,
    who join me here today, and saw the impact of the floods last month, I
    asked James Lee Witt to chair a task force of our Federal agencies and
    come up with a plan for the region's long-term recovery. Now we have
    that plan to deliver help quickly while we get maximum results for every
    Federal dollar spent.
        But to get that long-term relief to our people, we must have action
    from Congress. I asked congressional leaders for just that, in an
    emergency supplemental spending bill, the kind that we have had before
    when we had disasters. Many Members, led by lawmakers from the flooded
    States, worked hard to get a bill to me, but I'm sorry to say, some
    Members of the majority tried to use this important bill for different
    purposes. And without taking action, Congress left town, and our people
    were left in the lurch.
        Hundreds of thousands of our citizens are depending on this aid so
    they can get on with their lives. Even without action from the Congress,
    we're doing all we can to get immediate help to the victims. FEMA is
    using all the resources and authority it has to help with food, shelter,
    and emergency services. But these funds are limited. They will
    eventually run out, and they won't start the job of long-term recovery.
        Unless Congress approves these disaster relief funds, the victims
    cannot begin their long-term

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    recovery; they can't rebuild homes and businesses; farmers can't dig out
    their fields to plant crops. These people are in dire need, and Congress
    has failed to act for them. That is unconscionable. It flies in the face
    of the spirit of bipartisan cooperation we saw in our budget
    negotiations, and it's not how we treated other Americans when they were
    in similar dire straits over the last 4 years.
        In North Dakota, I saw not only the devastation of the floods, I saw
    the determination of the people, proud people doing their level-best to
    survive and get on with their lives. They don't expect free rides or
    handouts, but they do have a right to expect us to do the right thing by
    them, as we have by their fellow Americans when they were down and out.
        The wrath of nature can be random, swift, and unforgiving. That's
    where human nature must provide a balance. We should act out of
    compassion, as many Americans have, to help the victims. And in
    Government, we must act because that is our duty as Americans. We cannot
    leave the victims without the help they need and deserve. We have to
    act.
        I urge Congress to do its part and to do it quickly. Disaster
    doesn`t take a holiday. Let's work together to bring relief to people
    who need it--now.
        In closing, I want to wish you all a happy Memorial Day weekend.
    Drive safely, drive slowly, and buckle up.
        Thanks for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 7:08 p.m. on May 23 in the Roosevelt
    Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on May 24.