    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 29, Number 32 (Monday, August 16, 1993)]
    [Pages 1610-1611]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Statement on Signing Flood Relief Legislation

     August 12, 1993

        Today I have signed into law H.R. 2667, the ``Emergency Supplemental
    Appropriations for Relief From the Major, Widespread Flooding in the
    Midwest Act of 1993.'' This Act provides $6.3 billion of Federal
    assistance to the victims of the Midwest floods and other disasters. I
    commend the Congress for acting expeditiously to develop a bill that
    helps those who are suffering as a result of the Midwest floods.
        H.R. 2667 provides an estimated $2.35 billion for disaster payments
    to farmers through the Commodity Credit Corporation. Pursuant to this
    Act, I am informing Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy that
    extraordinary circumstances exist and that he is to make payments for
    1993 crop losses at a 100 percent payment rate for each eligible claim,
    as authorized in the 1990 Farm Bill and this Act.
        The Act also provides $2.0 billion for Federal Emergency Management
    Agency (FEMA) operations for disaster relief, both for the Midwest
    floods and for other disasters. This FEMA funding will provide for the
    repair of public facilities and for housing and other assistance to
    those affected by the Midwest floods. $235 million is provided to the
    Army Corps of Engineers for repairing damage to Federal and non-Federal
    levees and other flood control works.
        The Act provides $389 million in Small Business Administration (SBA)
    loans and $200 million for long-term recovery efforts through the
    Economic Development Administration (EDA). The low-interest SBA loans
    will be made available primarily to homeowners, renters, and business
    owners to assist in their recovery from physical damage caused by the
    flooding in the Midwest. In addition, some of the loans will be made to
    firms engaged in agriculture-related activities that have suffered
    substantial economic injury due to farm damage. The Act also provides
    $10 million for additional SBA staff in order to facilitate the
    processing of loan applications. The EDA disaster assistance grants will
    be provided to State and local units of government for economic recovery
    strategy, technical assistance, and public works grants.
        The Act includes $75 million for the Public Health and Social
    Service Emergency Fund of the Department of Health and Human Services
    for the repair and renovation of community health centers and migrant
    health centers damaged by the Midwest floods and for social services for
    flood victims. The Act also provides $200 million for disaster recovery
    planning with State and local agencies and for disaster-related
    community development. This $200 million is provided through the
    Department of Housing and Urban Development's Community Development
    Block Grant program.
        The Act includes $42 million for the Department of Agriculture's
    Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service. This includes $12
    million to hire temporary employees to accelerate processing of
    applications for crop disaster claims. It also includes $30 million to
    assist farmers with debris cleanup and the restoration of damaged
    farmland. Sixty million dollars is provided for the watershed and flood
    prevention operations program in the Department of Agriculture. These
    funds will be used to repair levees, dikes, and other flood-retarding
    structures and to open water courses plugged with sediment and debris.
    Under certain conditions, this funding could also be used to enroll
    eligible cropland in Agriculture's Wetlands Reserve Program. In
    addition, $270.5 million is included for rural development and housing
    loans, emergency water grants, very low income housing repair grants,
    and for the Extension Service.
        Also included in H.R. 2667 is $175 million for highway repair. This
    will allow the Secretary of Transportation to provide immediate
    assistance to States whose highways and bridges have been damaged by
    flooding. In addition, $21 million is provided for local rail assistance
    to help restore rail service in the flooded regions of the Midwest, and
    $10 million is provided for the Coast Guard.
        The Act provides $54.6 million for title III of the Job Training
    Partnership Act, which

    [[Page 1611]]

    authorizes assistance to dislocated workers. This additional funding
    will be available for the Secretary of Labor to finance temporary jobs
    to repair damage caused by the floods, clean up affected areas, and
    provide public safety and health services. Participants would include
    workers who have been dislocated by the floods, other displaced workers,
    and the long-term unemployed.
        The Act provides $1 million to repair and replace National Oceanic
    and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) facilities and equipment damaged
    during the Midwest floods. This includes repair and replacement of
    critical weather and flood warning systems.
        H.R. 2667 provides $70 million for disaster assistance to schools
    affected by the floods. Also provided is $30 million to supplement
    Federal Pell Grant awards. College financial aid officers have the
    authority to adjust award amounts to assist students who, due to the
    flood, lose income or documentation of income.
        The Act provides $50 million for the HOME Investment Partnerships
    Program in the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This funding
    will provide for a range of housing activities, including acquisition,
    rehabilitation, tenant-based rental assistance, and new construction in
    areas affected by the flooding in the Midwest.
        Five programs in the Department of the Interior receive a total of
    $41.2 million: the U.S. Geological Survey, the Fish and Wildlife
    Service, the National Park Service, the Historic Preservation Fund, and
    the Bureau of Indian Affairs. These funds will allow the Department to
    repair facilities on Indian reservations and to rehabilitate national
    wildlife refuges, fish hatcheries, dikes, roads, trails, and several
    national monuments and historic sites damaged by the Midwest floods.
        The Act provides $34 million for the Environmental Protection Agency
    (EPA). These funds will be used for environmental damage assessment; for
    identifying, collecting, and disposing of pesticides and other
    contaminants; and for cleanup actions at eligible leaking underground
    tank sites that have been affected by the Midwest floods.
        The Legal Services Corporation is provided $300,000 to assist those
    harmed by the flood with legal matters. Also provided is $4 million for
    State youth and conservation corps programs involved in disaster cleanup
    activities.
        In addition to amounts previously designated as emergency
    requirements in accordance with the applicable provisions of the
    Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended, I
    am today designating as emergency requirements the following
    appropriations and authorities provided by this Act:
        Department of Agriculture, Commodity Credit Corporation fund:
    $300,000,000;
        Department of Agriculture, Commodity Credit Corporation fund: all
    costs associated with raising to 100 percent the payment rate to farmers
    for 1993 crop losses;
        Department of Education, Impact Aid: $70,000,000;
        Department of Labor, Job Training: $11,100,000;
        Department of Transportation, Local Rail Freight Assistance:
    $21,000,000;
        Federal Emergency Management Agency, Disaster Relief: $862,000,000
    for FY 1993, which replaces the July 29, 1993, emergency designation of
    these funds, which were originally requested for FY 1994; and
        Legal Services Corporation, Payment to the Legal Services
    Corporation: $300,000.
                                                William J. Clinton
    The White House,
    August 12, 1993.

    Note: H.R. 2667, approved August 12, was assigned Public Law No. 103-75.