[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book I)]
[April 22, 1997]
[Pages 474-476]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks to the Community in Grand Forks
April 22, 1997

    The President. Thank you. Wait a minute, folks, I've got to get 
these crutches right here. [Laughter] Thank you, General Hess. Let me 
begin by thanking everyone who is a part of the Grand Forks Air Force 
Base for what you do for our national security and especially for what 
you have done to support the people of the Grand Forks communities in 
these last few days. I'm very proud of you. Thank you.
    As I think all of you know, I have just come from touring the 
devastation of the floods as well as a very moving community meeting, 
presided over by Mayor Owens, attended by Mayor Stauss and other mayors, 
the entire congressional delegation from North Dakota and from South 
Dakota, Senator Grams and Senator Wellstone from Minnesota, Congressman 
Collin Peterson from Minnesota, and the Governors from North Dakota and 
Minnesota.
    It has been a very moving experience for all of us. Five members of 
my Cabinet are here, the Secretaries of Agriculture, Health and Human 
Services, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, and the 
Administrator of the Small Business Administration. The Secretary of the 
Army is here. We have all come, first of all, to see firsthand what it 
is you've been going through; secondly, to pledge to do our part to help 
make you whole; and thirdly, to tell you that we're for you. We have 
hardly ever seen such a remarkable demonstration of courage and 
commitment and cooperation and basic human strength, and we are very 
impressed and proud to be Americans when we see what you have done in 
the face of this terrible disaster.
    We know that this rebuilding is going to be a long-term prospect, 
and we also know that there are some very immediate and pressing human 
needs that many people have. Before I left this morning, I took some 
steps I wanted to tell you about. First, I authorized James Lee Witt and 
the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide 100 percent of the 
direct Federal assistance for all the emergency work going to be 
undertaken here.
    The second thing we did was to add to the counties already covered 
another 18 counties in Minnesota and 53 in South Dakota who need help.
    The third thing I did was to ask Congress to approve another $200 
million in emergency

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funds for North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota. These funds will be 
available for both short-term emergency response activities and for 
long-term efforts to help you rebuild. If approved, this action will 
bring to $488 million the total amount of disaster assistance that I 
have requested for the people of these three States.
    Now, let me say there are--I say again, I know there are short-term, 
immediate concerns, people who need a place to sleep, people who don't 
know where their next check is coming from, even people who don't have 
access to basic sanitary facilities except here on the air base. We are 
working to restore those things with your local community folks. And we 
had some specific talks about what we could do to get proper housing 
available while you're rebuilding your communities.

[At this point, there was a disturbance in the building.]

    The President. That's up there. Anybody hurt?
    Well, we've had a fire, a flood, a blizzard--[laughter]--I guess we 
can take a--[applause].
    So anyway, we'll have our folks here, and there will be lots of 
them. And let me just say, this is going to be--these next few days--our 
FEMA Director, James Lee Witt, and I have been working on these things a 
long time. He was my emergency director when I was Governor of Arkansas. 
I know what's going to happen. I've been through floods and tornadoes 
and terrible losses. The next few days are going to be very, very hard 
on a lot of people. A lot of you who have been very, very brave and 
courageous, helped your friends and neighbors, are going to--it's going 
to sink in on you what you have been through and what has been lost. And 
I want to encourage all of you to really look out for each other in the 
next few days and be sensitive to the enormous emotional pressures that 
some of you will feel and also kind of be good to yourselves. Understand 
you don't have to be ashamed if you're heartbroken. But it's going to be 
tough in the next few days.
    But I also want you to feel very resolute about the long run. I have 
asked Director Witt to head an interagency task force to develop a long-
term plan for what our responsibilities are to help you rebuild and be 
stronger and better than ever. And believe me, it may be hard to believe 
now, but you can rebuild stronger and better than ever. And we're going 
to help you do that. And we want you to keep your eyes on that future.
    Let me also say, as I go back to Washington to ask the Congress to 
approve this emergency package, I will never forget what I have seen and 
heard here. Four of your community leaders who played various roles in 
the last several weeks, Ken Vein, Jim Shothorst, Randy Johnson, and Curt 
Kreun, talked to me and to others in the meeting a few moments ago. I 
have seen the pictures of people battling the flames of the fire in the 
rising floods. I have seen rescue workers working around the clock even 
as they lost their own homes. I have seen people pitching in to rescue 
books from the University of North Dakota library. I have read the last 
3 days' editions of this newspaper. How in the world they kept producing 
the newspaper for you is beyond me. And you ought to be very proud of 
them for doing that. I read this morning that there's a message board 
right here that's covered with offers for free housing all around. And 
that's the kind of spirit that will get everyone through this.
    With all the losses, I hope when this is bearing down on you in the 
next few days, you will remember the enormous courage and shared pride 
and values and support that all of you have given each other. You have 
shown that when we think of our duties to one another, our own lives are 
better, that we're all stronger when we try to make sure our friends and 
neighbors are safe and strong as well. And no matter what you have lost 
in this terrible flood, what you have saved and strengthened and 
sharpened and shown to the world is infinitely better. And you should be 
very, very proud of that.
    I saw something your mayor said the other day that struck me in 
particular. She said, ``What makes a community a place to live in is not 
the buildings. It's the people, the spirit, and faith that are in those 
people. Water cannot wash that away, and fire cannot burn that away, and 
a blizzard cannot freeze that away.'' And if you don't give it away, it 
will bring you back better than ever. And we'll be there with you every 
step of the way.
    Thank you, and God bless you.

Note: The President spoke at 2:50 p.m. in Hangar

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Two at Grand Forks Air Force Base. In his remarks, he referred to Brig. 
Gen. Kenneth Hess, USAF, Base Commander, Grand Forks Air Force Base.