[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

[[Page 837]]

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.