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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary


For Immediate Release February 17, 1995
            PRESIDENT CLINTON APPROVES ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR 
            SOUTHEAST FLOOD RELIEF, $95 MILLION FOR GEORGIA

President Clinton today made available an additional $145 million in emergency funding to communities in Georgia, Florida and Alabama to assist in their continued efforts to recover from flooding and damage caused by last summer's Tropical Storm Alberto.

"We will continue to stand by the people of Georgia, Florida and Alabama as they do the hard work of recovering from last summer's storms, rebuilding their homes, repairing their roads and restarting their businesses," the President said.

These funds, $95 million of which will be dedicated to Georgia communities, come from FY 1995 appropriations of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Commerce.

Public Law 103-327, the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1995, provided $180 million for HUD's Community Development Grants program. The availability of these funds was made contingent upon the President submitting a budget request to the Congress and designating the entire amount requested as an emergency requirement. On December 27, 1994, the President designated $22.2 million of the $180 million as an emergency requirement. The President's action today makes an additional $100 million available to assist Georgia and Alabama in repair and reconstruction of damaged houses and infrastructure, business recovery, and acquisition and relocation of damaged housing located in the flood plain.

Public Law 103-317, the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1995, provided $55 million for Commerce's Economic Development Administration. The availability of these funds was made contingent upon the President submitting a budget request to the Congress and designating the entire amount requested as an emergency requirement. On December 27, 1994, the President designated $10 million of the $55 million as an emergency requirement. Today's action makes the remaining $45 million available to support post-disaster economic recovery projects in Georgia, Alabama, and Florida.

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