Tom Harkin: “He makes an excellent point. And, I am pleased to cosponsor the amendment that he has developed to make sure that will…”

“He makes an excellent point. And, I am pleased to cosponsor the amendment that he has developed to make sure that will not happen. I have heard from a number of Senators in the affected States. And, they agree. Clearly, the expectation is that a considerable portion of the $250 million in CDBG funds being provided for the midwest flood States will be used for whole town and home 'buyouts.' When I requested additional CDBG funds in a meeting with Leon Panetta, the Director of OMB, that was one of the three principal purposes of the requested funds. And, in the language which OMB proposed and which I offered in the committee, that was OMB's and my intent. So, a considerable sum is involved. The Hatfield amendment is based on the provisions in the Hazard Mitigation and Relocation Assistance Act that I sponsored last year. And, the amendment coordinates the limitations of these funds with the restrictions in that act.”