[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.