George H.W. Bush: “Let me, at the outset of these remarks, say how much I appreciate the cooperative spirit here, the Governor of Florida…”

“Let me, at the outset of these remarks, say how much I appreciate the cooperative spirit here, the Governor of Florida, the Mayor and the city manager of Homestead, and the other cities here that are represented. And all are pitching in. I am so proud of what our military is doing. And God bless the volunteers, those who are giving of themselves to help others. It is a moving and a wonderful message that's going forth to the whole country, whether it's from the military, from State officials, from local officials, or from the volunteers, the propensity of one American to help another. That's the message that I get loud and clear. Last week I was here in south Florida, and then I returned to Washington and issued the orders to help people get back on their feet. We're in this for the long haul. We won't leave until the job is done. That's why I'm here this morning with Secretary Cheney, the Secretary of Defense. And I'm proud to be at the side of our two Senators from Florida who have been working day and night along with the Governor trying to help the people of this State. Today I'm announcing that we are committed to rebuilding Homestead Air Force Base to show our commitment to south Florida. Homestead is very important to our military. It helps combat the cocaine trade. It provides air defense. And it will be rebuilt. Now, I don't underestimate our task in south Florida, particularly after being back here today. And to ease the financial burden, today I am authorizing under the Stafford Act full Federal reimbursement for 100 percent of all eligible public assistance, including projects such as debris removal, to eliminate immediate threats to public health and safety, and repair and reconstruction of nonprofit facilities. After the State has committed an amount equal to, what was it, $10 per capita--but this authorization is the maximum that we can do, and I am very proud that we're doing this. Temporary housing and mortgage assistance crisis counseling, disaster unemployment assistance will continue to be 100 percent federally funded where permitted under the law. And although some cost sharing is involved, the Federal assistance that I have authorized today represents an extraordinary and very appropriate response to this human tragedy. However, the real heroes of Hurricane Andrew have been and will continue to be the people, the people of south Florida. They offer great hope for tomorrow. And to help coordinate the private sector response to Hurricane Andrew, I've asked Alvah Chapman, a very respected Florida leader and businessman, to serve as the private sector liaison to work with Secretary Card, to work with the Governor, to work with the Federal task force to ensure the most effective recovery effort possible. Also, as I said yesterday, I want to commend and thank in the strongest terms possible the great effort of these private volunteer agencies who have responded so quickly and so well to the crisis. God bless the volunteers. I know, and I say this confidently, that these volunteers can count on the continued support of the American people in their ongoing work in meeting the critical needs of the people of south Florida. We are going to succeed. We will succeed because the people of south Florida, because of their spirit. I've seen many examples of this just since I've been here, but let me just mention Isa Haydem who owns a Days Inn in Homestead. Isa fired up his commercial- sized outdoor grill, cooked steaks, shrimp, and scallops, food donated by the local restaurants. And last Wednesday they fed 2,500 people during the day. And at night they fed almost 300, most of whom are police out there working their hearts out to keep order. Well, it's heroes like this, and there are many other such examples, which make Alex Muxo, the Homestead city manager, say, ``It's never gone. There's always tomorrow.'' Well, I agree. And we, working cooperatively with everybody, will rebuild south Florida. The spirit's still here. The spirit is still intact. And may God bless the people that have been hurt. We're here to help. Thank you all very, very much. A great crowd. I did not mention the Congressmen here, Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and, of course, my old friend Dante Fascell, who represents this area. He's been the conscience here, getting in touch with us on things that we could do, including this matching of funds situation. So I salute him and Ileana.”