[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 44, Number 24 (Monday, June 23, 2008)]
[Pages 869-870]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
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 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

[[Page 870]]

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. Chet Culver of Iowa; and James A. Nussle, 
Director, Office of Management and Budget.