Clinton Tours Flooded Midwest Areas, Pledges Aid; Benefits Similar to Those Given Victims of Hurricane Andrew Promised to Farmers
President Clinton visited this flood-ravaged city tonight and held a town meeting with about 100 area farmers, promising them hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid.</br></br>Accompanied by Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy, Clinton told the farmers the government would provide benefits similar to those given to victims of Hurricane Andrew - federal loans for up to half of their total losses for businesses and individuals.</br></br>Sitting on a bale of hay at a farm near here, Clinton told the crowd that he would act "as quickly and as aggressively as we can. We hope it'll help."</br></br>He said he plans to ask Congress to appropriate nearly $1 billion in relief to the farmers hurt by the worst Mississippi River flooding since 1965.</br></br>Before speaking to the farmers, Clinton toured downtown Davenport, where he surveyed a baseball field that was submerged and saw water lap at the limbs of the downtown area's trees.