Bill Clinton: “Thank you very much. Let me just say, first of all, how very appreciative I am for the incredible work that has been…”

“Thank you very much. Let me just say, first of all, how very appreciative I am for the incredible work that has been done here in the last several days by the people of this State. I'm very proud of the contribution that has been made by all of the Federal Agencies, working in partnership with the people of Iowa, and I want to say a special word of appreciation for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and its Director, James Lee Witt, but also to the Agriculture Department. Secretary Espy is here with me for the second time in only 10 days, and I think his third trip to Iowa, and Mr. Witt is here. And your Senators and your congressional delegation, they're all here with us today. And Governor Branstad and I took a helicopter flight over the major portions of Des Moines and the surrounding area that have been hurt so badly. Because I come from a State that's not all that different from Iowa, I have seen whole towns flooded, I have seen massive amounts of farmland flooded, but I've never seen anything on this scale before. And certainly, in my lifetime, anyway, to my knowledge there's never been an American city without water that was this large for this long a period of time. I'm here today to view this damage, to talk to the members of the congressional delegation, to talk to the Governor and the other State officials of the people who are here working, and to do what I can to assure you that the victims of this disaster--and insofar as I, as President, can guarantee it--will be treated just like the victims of Hurricane Andrew or Hugo or the terrible devastation in Hawaii that my wife is visiting today from just several months ago. This is a very profound problem. As you know, we have five States now, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Missouri, along with Iowa, that have been declared disasters. We have our Federal folks in South Dakota, which has had extensive crop damage, Kansas, and Nebraska, reviewing those States. We will present today a bill to the Congress for emergency assistance based on our best estimates of the damage reports that have been filed to date. But we know there will be several more in, in the next few days, and I expect we'll have to revise all those numbers upward. We want to get the bill in today just to start movement on the bill. But as the damage reports come in over the next 4 to 5 days, I expect you'll see some revision upward in the numbers that the administration has asked for, both in the House and the Senate. And I want to say again, I'm going to do my best to make sure that the full reach of Federal assistance comes to the people of Iowa and to all the victims of this flood, and I'll be working closely with your congressional delegation to get that done. But in the end, this is really a triumph of the spirit of the people of this State. I've been very moved by what I have seen not only from the helicopter but here in this parking lot today. And I want to say a special word of thanks to all those who have volunteered their time and who have come forward to help people in times of need, because that's really what America is all about. We've seen once again that we are capable of being a very strong family when we need to be, and it's a great tribute to your people. Thank you very much.”