[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 41 (Monday, October 11, 2004)]
[Page 2262]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives Transmitting a 
Supplemental Budget Request To Support Comprehensive Response and 
Recovery Efforts After Hurricane Jeanne

October 5, 2004

Dear Mr. Speaker:

    On September 8th, I signed into law Public Law 108-303, the 
Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act, 2004, 
which provided $2 billion in supplemental funds for hurricane-related 
disaster relief. On September 14th and 27th, I submitted additional 
supplemental requests totaling $10.2 billion to continue immediate 
assistance to address the impact of Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, 
and Jeanne.
    Due to the availability of better estimates regarding the damage 
resulting from Hurricane Jeanne, I am requesting additional emergency 
funds from the Congress to address this natural disaster. I now ask the 
Congress to consider the enclosed requests, totaling $691.2 million, for 
additional emergency resources for the Departments of Agriculture, 
Defense, the Interior, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs; as well as 
the Corps of Engineers, the Environmental Protection Agency, and 
International Assistance Programs.
    I hereby designate these specific proposals in the amounts requested 
herein as emergency requirements. These additional requests will support 
response and recovery efforts to address the critical needs associated 
with the effects of Hurricane Jeanne. In addition to this enacted and 
requested emergency funding, Federal agencies will continue to use 
existing resources and programs for response and recovery efforts from 
all recent hurricanes and storms.
    I urge the Congress to limit this emergency funding to those items 
directly related to the recovery efforts from the impact of these recent 
major disasters and to act expeditiously on this and my pending 
emergency supplemental requests.
    The details of this request are set forth in the enclosed letter 
from the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
     Sincerely,
                                                George W. Bush