Bill Clinton: “Good afternoon. As all of you know, this morning at dawn a violent earthquake struck southern California near Los…”

“Good afternoon. As all of you know, this morning at dawn a violent earthquake struck southern California near Los Angeles. Because it occurred in a densely populated area, it was an unusually destructive one. We have all seen today on our own televisions the buildings that have collapsed, the freeways turned into rubble. The power has been cut off and gas mains have exploded and, most tragically, many people have been injured and several lives have already been lost. Due to the damage caused by the earthquake, I have, by signing the document that I will sign at the end of this statement, declared these areas of California to be a major disaster, thereby authorizing the expenditures of funds necessary for Federal disaster assistance that is requested by Governor Wilson. This program will include, among other things, low-interest loans to replace homes and businesses, cash grants where needed, housing assistance, emergency unemployment assistance, and funds to rebuild the highways, the schools, and other infrastructure. At my direction, the Director of FEMA, James Lee Witt, is now on his way to California, along with Secretary of Transportation Pena and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Cisneros. In addition, I have directed some senior White House staff to the scene as well. Our hearts and prayers go out to the people of southern California. I spoke early this morning with Mayor Riordan and then with Governor Wilson and wished them well and pledged to them that the United States Government would do all that we possibly can to be helpful. They were obviously appreciative and were glad that James Lee Witt, as well as our Cabinet Secretaries, were on their way to the scene. The people of southern California have been through a lot recently with the fires. The economy of the State of California has suffered enormous stresses in the last few years, and I think all of us should be very sensitive to what they are going through now. I know the rest of America will offer them their thoughts and their prayers tonight and will support our common efforts to help them to recover from this tragedy and to get on with the business of rebuilding their lives. The assistance here will be short-term to help people get through the next few days, but there will also be long-term work to be done, and we expect to be involved as full partners in that. Again, let me say I wish the Mayor, the Governor, the people of California well. We are looking forward to working with them. I have had the opportunity to speak with both Senator Boxer and Senator Feinstein today, and I am confident that everybody is doing everything they can. I am going to be here basically waiting for reports today and tomorrow as we assess what our next steps should be. Let me sign the document for disaster declaration, and then I will answer a few questions. [At this point, the President signed the declaration.]”