[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
[February 25, 1998]
[Pages 283-284]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks After Touring Tornado Damage in Kissimmee, Florida
February 25, 1998

    Ladies and gentlemen, first let me say a word of thanks to all of 
those who have given me this tour and who have been working so hard 
since Monday. I brought down here with me our FEMA Director, James Lee 
Witt, who's already been here; Attorney 
General Reno; Administrator of the EPA Carol Browner--both of them are from Florida, as I'm 
sure you know--and our Small Business Administrator, Aida Alvarez.
    I want to thank Senator Graham and 
Congresswoman Brown and Representative 
Mica for coming down with me today, and to say 
that Congressman Boyd and Congresswoman Thurman also wished to come and could not because of 
their work requirements, but they expressed their concern and support.
    I thank Governor Chiles and Lieutenant 
Governor MacKay, the leaders of the legislature 
who are here, Speaker Bronson, Minority Leader Senator Dyer, Senator Webster--I mean Senator Bronson, and--Representative Bronson and Speaker Webster.
    Mayor Atkinson, thank you for making us 
feel at home today and for introducing us to some of your citizens and 
some of your winter visitors. I thank the Osceola County commissioners 
with whom I've met, Chairman Dunnick and 
others; General Harrison and the Florida 
National Guard; all the people who have been working on this. I had a 
chance to meet a number of them. I want to thank them for what they have 
done.
    Some of you know that James Lee Witt, 
before he became the Director of the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency, was the director of our State emergency program in Arkansas when 
I was Governor. Our State has the highest number of tornadoes per capita 
every year. But no matter how many of these I have seen over the last 20 
years, I don't think anybody can fail to be moved and awestruck by the 
amount of damage that can be done, and the lives and the treasures that 
can be taken away in a matter of just a few seconds.
    And I think we all acknowledge here today that what took just 
seconds to destroy will take weeks and months and, in some cases, maybe 
even years to rebuild. Some of you may have lost precious pictures, 
letters, service medals,

[[Page 284]]

other mementos of loved ones and family members that may never be able 
to be replaced. We know that. But it's also important for you to know 
that we understand that you'll be going through a period in which you'll 
feel all different kinds of emotions. You may be in shock. You may feel 
like crying. You may feel angry. And some of the people that are 
supposed to help you may or may not do as good a job as they should the 
first time you ask for it or need it.
    What I want to say today is that, all over this country, your fellow 
Americans are praying for you and pulling for you. And whatever it is 
within our power to do to help you return to normal lives, we will do.
    I have already designated Federal assistance to 34 Florida counties 
affected by the tornadoes. Twelve will now be able to receive aid to 
restore public facilities and infrastructure and to take protective 
measures: Bradford, Citrus, Columbia, Duval, Hamilton, Hardee, 
Highlands, Marion, Nassau, Osceola, Suwannee, and Union Counties. And we 
are also providing today $3 million from the Department of Labor for 
temporary jobs for workers to assist in the disaster recovery work so 
that we can complete it more quickly.
    My experience has been that the efforts you see going on around you 
to just clean out the debris and help people look at a place as nearly 
as possible as it once was before the tornado is psychologically one of 
the most important things that can be done to help the healing process 
and to get people back to normal.
    We'll also continue under FEMA's direction to provide the resources 
necessary to meeting the immediate disaster needs. Already FEMA 
staffers, the SBA, the Department of Labor, the Corps of Engineers, and 
some of our young AmeriCorps volunteers are here helping in the effort.
    Let me say again a special work of commendation not only to the 
State and local emergency management officials and the search and rescue 
teams and the volunteers who have been working for 72 hours, but I'd 
also like to say a word of appreciation to Governor Chiles and to Lieutenant Governor MacKay with whom, unfortunately, I have had the opportunity to 
work now through more than one disaster. Florida has seen a lot of its 
natural disaster shares. I think you've used up your quota for the next 
20 or 30 years in the last few years. But I've had an opportunity to see 
a caring team of State leaders who work hard, work fast, and stay after 
us at the national level to do our part, and I want to thank them for 
that.
    Let me also just say, for a moment, you may have seen in the news 
media that California, which has been beset by unusual amounts of 
raining and flooding because of El Nino, yesterday was badly hit by 
storms. People died there, and our thoughts are with their loved ones. 
I've asked Mr. Witt to go with me to 
California today so that he can go to the impacted area and see what is 
going on there.
    Again, let me say that the thoughts and prayers of the American 
people are with you. In the Book of Isaiah in the Bible there is this 
chapter--I'd like to read it to you: ``The bricks are fallen down, but 
we will build with you in stones. The sycamores are cut down, but we 
will change them into cedars.'' We want to see you do that, brick by 
brick, home by home, street by street. You can do it, and we want to be 
there to help.
    God bless you. Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 11:56 a.m. at the Ponderosa Park 
Campground. In his remarks, he referred to Gov. Lawton Chiles and Lt. 
Gov. Buddy MacKay of Florida; State Senators Charlie Bronson and Florida 
Senate Minority Leader Buddy Dyer; Speaker of the Florida House of 
Representatives Daniel Webster; Mayor Frank Atkinson of Kissimmee; Chuck 
Dunnick, chair, Osceola County Commissioners; and Maj. Gen. Ronald O. 
Harrison, adjutant general of Florida. A tape was not available for 
verification of the content of these remarks.