THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release September 12, 1996

The President has asked the Congress to provide $400 million in emergency funds to fight forest fires, and he made available $50 million for the temporary housing of flood victims.

Large wildfires have struck nearly every Western State this year. Twice as many acres have burned this year than in an average year. As a result, the President requested $300 million for the Department of Agriculture to fight fires on National Forest lands and $100 million for the Department of the Interior to fight fires on Interior Department land.

To pay for temporarily housing the victims of presidentially declared flood disasters between October 1, 1995, and April 26, 1996, the President also made available $50 million in Community Development Block Grant funds.

States will receive a share of the $50 million in the following way:

State Grantee Allocation

       Florida ..................         $8,712,773
       Georgia ..................         $1,776,156
       Idaho ....................         $2,553,110
       Illinois .................         $2,522,685
       Maryland .................           $988,638
       North Carolina ...........           $636,674
       North Dakota .............           $267,421
       Ohio .....................           $924,029
       Oregon ...................        $10,733,156
       Pennsylvania .............         $2,163,670
       Virginia .................           $760,747
       Washington ...............        $16,572,740
       West Virginia ............         $1,388,201
  
       Total ....................        $50,000,000

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