Bill Clinton

I hereby delegate to the Administrator of the Agency for International Development (AID) the functions vested in me by section 9 of that Act.

This economic plan is good for the country and the economy and good for the forgotten middle class.

You know that we must create high-wage, high-skill jobs again so there will be less crime, fewer transfer payments, and more revenues to support businesses and institutions that are the foundation of all stable communities.

I'm just sitting here meeting with the chairmen, and I'm going to also, you know, keep working through this with the conferees.

Governor Branstad wants a last word. He's earned it, since he's down to taking a shower every other day. [Governor Branstad presented the President with a T-shirt.]

Thank you. I like that line. I don't know about being ``Commander in Chief of disasters.'' I'm afraid I may live to hear that again before long. [Laughter] But thank you very much, Senator Mikulski. That was a wonderful statement, and…

Thank you. Secretary Cisneros, we flew over a lot of people that don't have their homes anymore today. [Secretary Cisneros discussed use of community development block grants for immediate cleanup and reconstruction work including waivers…

Thank you. I'd like to ask Secretary Pena to comment on this issue, as well as on the infrastructure damage generally. [Secretary Pena discussed the extraordinary impact of the flooding on both regional and national transportation systems.]

Thank you. We have a few other topics I think it's really important that we cover today: shipping and commerce, housing, and infrastructure for sure. I'd like to ask Governor Carlson and Governor Schafer to comment on the issues of…

I think that's important. Terry's going to say something, but when I was in Iowa the other day, it's very interesting that you discussed this because there are more people than you would think affected by this who aren't in the normal…

Thank you very much. As I said, we do intend to review the agricultural rules. Let me comment very briefly on the bank loan issue. Along with a number of other farm State Governors, back in the mid-eighties we had a meeting in Chicago--I…

Since we're talking about this, I want to get in a plug for my pet project. Some of our national service volunteers this summer have come to the flooding areas and are working as volunteers. And Senator Durenberger and Congressman Vento…

Thank you. I also think it's fair to say, though, that all those volunteers have to be coordinated. And we really appreciate the work that's been done there. James Lee, did you want to say something about that? [Mr. Witt praised the Red…

We're going to review that. We presented that under the terms of--the same thing that happened with Hurricane Andrew. And I frankly was not even aware of it being a problem until the Congressmen from the affected States brought it up to me…

Let me say, if you have any other specific suggestions on this, this is an important issue that Governor Edgar has raised and that the Secretary has responded to. As we look at the crop insurance reformation issue, if there are other areas…

Thank you. Before we move off the public health issues, I'd like to ask Secretary Shalala to comment about a number of issues. The obvious one is the water situation and with regard to potable water. But there are some other issues here…

I'd like to, if I might, move on to another issue, which affects more people in Iowa than any other place, but that's the lack of potable water. And I'd like to ask Governor Branstad to talk to us a little about that. I live in a State…

With regard to the issue that Governor Carnahan raised, this is not exactly responsive, because you talked about farm losses. But I do think it's important to point out that FEMA does have a modest program to deal with personal losses of…

Let me ask you one quick followup question. When Governor Branstad and I were in Iowa the other day and we saw this vast lake that essentially went from Des Moines all the way to the Mississippi River--the kind of thing the Vice President…

Thank you very much, Governor. A little later in the program, I'm going to ask the Secretary of Labor, Bob Reich, to talk about the dislocated worker issue. It is a major issue. But before we move this topic, I'd like to ask General…

Thank you very much. I'd like to now call on the White House Chief of Staff Mack McLarty to make a few remarks. I have asked Mack to oversee the White House coordination of this to ensure that it receives the best possible attention within…

Americans can rise to any challenge.

We will ask that the bill be amended, wherever it is, if it's in the House or in the Senate.

Many of you have made the same observation that Senator Mikulski did about the importance of the ongoing effort.

We are here to deal with basically two great issues.