[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

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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.