    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book I)]
    [June 17, 2008]
    [Pages 836-837]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following a Briefing on Flooding in the Midwest
    June 17, 2008

        I've just assembled my--many people in my domestic policy team to
    discuss the current flooding in the Midwest. First, our hearts and
    thoughts go to those who lost life. And of course, we're concerned about
    those whose--who've lost their homes or lost their businesses.
        I've been briefed by Secretary Chertoff
    and Secretary Schafer and Director
    Paulison about the response. First task at
    hand is to deal with the flood waters, to anticipate where the flooding
    may next occur, and to work with the State and local authorities to deal
    with the response.
        For example, in the case of Iowa, one of the issues was the need for
    fresh drinking water--or drinking water, and so Director
    Paulison informed me that we've provided
    about 2 million liters of drinking water. When I was overseas, I spoke
    to the Governor, and he said, ``Listen,
    I--the Federal--we need Federal help on drinking water.'' So I sent the
    word to David, and he responded well.
        My only point to you is, is that we're in constant contact with
    people on the ground to help make sure that we save lives. Now that the
    water is beginning to recede, the question is, how do we help with the
    recovery? And Secretary Chertoff briefed me
    on plans, particularly when it comes to housing. A lot of people are
    going

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    to be wondering, is there short-term help for housing? And there is, and
    we'll provide that help.
        And secondly, what's going to happen in the long term to the homes?
    And so Michael's going to set up a housing
    task force, similar to the kind we set up in California for the
    wildfires, to work with State and local authorities to have an orderly
    strategy to help people get back in their homes.
        I fully understand people are upset when they lose their home. A
    person's home is their most valued possession. And we want to work with
    State and local folks to have a clear strategy to help people find--get
    back into a place they--that--where they can live.
        Secondly, we're worried about farmers and ranchers. The country
    that's being affected by these floods has got a lot of farm country, a
    lot of people raising livestock. And the Secretary of
    Agriculture has briefed me on the
    conditions--and we're still assessing how widespread the damage is on
    the farmlands--and assures me that his team's in place to help farmers
    and ranchers with the Federal aid available.
        And finally, Director Nussle's here from
    the Budget Office. We've got what we called a Disaster Relief Fund.
    There's enough money in that fund to take care of this disaster, but
    what we're concerned about is future disasters this year. And therefore,
    we're going to work with the Congress--Jim Nussle is going to go up to
    work with Congress to get enough money in the upcoming supplemental to
    make sure that fund is--has got enough money to deal with a potential
    disaster--another disaster this year.
        Congress doesn't need to worry about working with the White House on
    this, because we think the supplemental is the way to go. What they do
    need to worry about is making sure that there is enough, but not too
    much, money in the fund, so we can say we have done our job.
        I want to thank the members of my administration for working hard on
    this issue. I want to thank the Governors in the affected States for
    being so compassionate in caring for their citizens. I want to thank the
    folks at the local level for loving a neighbor like they'd like to be
    loved themselves.
        This Thursday, I'm going to take our team down there to meet with
    the folks in Iowa. And I, unfortunately, have been to too many disasters
    as President. But one thing I've always learned is that the American
    citizen can overcome these disasters. And life, while it may seem dim at
    this point in time, can always be better because of the resiliency and
    care of our citizens.
        Thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:21 a.m. in the Roosevelt Room at the
    White House. In his remarks, he referred to Secretary of Agriculture
    Edward T. Schafer; R. David Paulison, Administrator, Federal Emergency
    Management Agency; Gov. Chester J. Culver of Iowa; and James A. Nussle,
    Director, Office of Management and Budget.