Bill Clinton: “Well, I just wanted to make one final comment before we all sign off. Today we are marking the 6-month milestone in your…”

“Well, I just wanted to make one final comment before we all sign off. Today we are marking the 6-month milestone in your recovery effort by releasing a report prepared by our Office of Management and Budget that describes what's been done so far. And I really want to thank again our FEMA Director, James Lee Witt, Secretary Pena, Erskine Bowles, our SBA Administrator, and of course, Henry Cisneros for all their hard work. So far we have identified $11.9 billion in Federal assistance to meet California's need after the earthquake. That's the largest amount ever provided to an individual disaster. And with the assistance, obviously, of both of you, Mayor Riordan, Mayor Abdo, and the hard work of your Senators and the California congressional delegation, Congress enacted that emergency relief package in record time. Our report shows now that record numbers of applications for assistance have been received. FEMA has accepted over 600,000 registrations, which is twice the previous all-time high for Hurricane Hugo. The SBA has accepted over 200,000 disaster loan applications to repair homes and businesses, which is more than for the Midwest floods, Hurricane Andrew, the Loma Prieta earthquake, and Hurricane Hugo combined. And I know that Henry has signed over 12,600 leases providing homes to families who were displaced by the earthquake. So we've tried to be creative and flexible in our response. Secretary Pena's now-famous cost-plus-time contracting proposal led to the opening of damaged freeways in record time, faster than even I believed it could be done, and I'm an incurable optimist. And the SBA Administrator, Erskine Bowles, exercised his discretionary authority so that disaster loans went to larger numbers of major employers to retain communities. The Commerce Secretary developed new and innovative programs to help rebuild infrastructure and assist small businesses that don't otherwise qualify for Federal assistance. So we've tried to be quick and flexible and helpful. And I just want to say again, looking back on the last 6 months, I feel good about what all of us have done together. But I know the job is not finished. And I hope this announcement today will give you, the leaders, as well as the citizens of southern California assurances that--my personal pledge and our entire administration--we're still committed over the long haul to make sure that we get over the Northridge earthquake and we make it, over the long run, a net plus for the people of southern California because of the rebound. [The mayors expressed their appreciation to the President. Secretary Cisneros then discussed his plans to visit Los Angeles, and the mayors thanked him also.]”