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C 0 Estimate No. 91 P 80th Congress, Second Session Y EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT BUREAU OF THE BUDGET Washington 25, D.C. June 2, 1948 The President The White House Sir: I have the honor to submit herewith for your consideration a supplemental estimate of appropriation for the fiscal year 1948 in the amount of $600,000 for disaster relief as follows: FUNDS APPROPRIATED TO THE PRESIDENT Disaster relief: To enable the President, through such agency or agencies as he may designate, and in such manner as he shall determine, to supplement the efforts and available resources of State and local governments or other agencies, whenever he finds that any flood, fire, hurricane, earthquake, or other catastrophe in any part of the United States is of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant emergency assistance by the Federal Government in alleviating the damage, hardship, or suffering caused thereby, and whenever the Governor of any State in which such damage shall occur shall certify that such assist- ance is required, $600,000, to remain available until June 30, 1949, and to be expended without regard to such provisions regulating the expenditure of Government funds or the employment of persons in the Government service as he shall specify: Provided, That within any affected area Federal agencies are authorized to participate in any such emergency assistance to the extent of their available resources. The purpose of this estimate is to provide a limited amount of Federal money to be drawn upon to supplement the efforts and available resources of State and local governments and other agencies in alleviating the damage, hardship or suffering caused by flood, fire, hurricane, earthquake, or other catastrophe in any part of the United States when such catastrophe is of sufficient severity and magnitude to justify some assistance from the Federal Government. During the course of the past year a number of catastrophes of varying proportions have struck different areas in the United States. The recovery from these misfortunes has been beyond the financial ability of local author- ities. Some assistance has been possible through a temporary law which permits the Federal Works Agency to channel surplus property available from