Proclamations Proc. 7924 4. Section 3147 of title 40, United States Code, provides that "[t]he Presi- dent may suspend the provisions of this subchapter during a national emer- gency." 5. Several areas of the Nation have been recently devastated by Hurricane Katrina. The devastation from the hurricane has resulted in the largest amount of property damage from a natural disaster in the history of the Na- tion. An enormous but undetermined number of lives have been lost, and hundreds of thousands of homes and business establishments either de- stroyed or severely damaged. Hundreds of thousands of individuals have lost their jobs and their livelihood. An unprecedented amount of Federal assistance will be needed to restore the communities that have been rav- aged by the hurricane. Accordingly, I find that the conditions caused by Hurricane Katrina constitute a "national emergency" within the meaning of section 3147 of title 40, United States Code. (a) Hurricane Katrina has resulted in unprecedented property damage. (b) The wage rates imposed by section 3\17742 of title 40, United States Code, increase the cost to the Federal Government of providing Fed- eral assistance to these areas. (c) Suspension of the subchapter IV of chapter 3\177 of title 40, United States Code, 40 U.S.C. 3\1774\177-3148, and the operation of related acts to the extent they depend upon the Secretary of Labor's determina- tions under section 3\17742 of title 40, United States Code, will result in greater assistance to these devastated communities and will per- mit the employment of thousands of additional individuals. NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, do by this proclamation suspend, as to all contracts entered into on or after the date of this proclamation and until otherwise provided, the provisions of subchapter IV of chapter 3\177 of title 40, United States Code, 40 U.S.C. 3\1774\177-3148, and the provisions of all other acts providing for the payment of wages, which provisions are dependent upon determina- tions by the Secretary of Labor under section 3\17742 of title 40, United States Code, as they apply to contracts to be performed in the following jurisdic- tions: the counties of Baldwin, Choctaw, Clarke, Mobile, Sumter, and Washington in the State of Alabama; the counties of Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe in the State of Florida; the parishes of Acadia, Allen, Ascen- sion, Assumption, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Bienville, Bosslet, Caddo, Calcasieu, Caldwell, Cameron, Catahoula, Claiborne, Concordia, De Soto, East Baton Rouge, East Carroll, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Franklin, Grant, Iberia, Iberville, Jackson, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, La Salle, Lafayette, Lafourche, Lincoln, Livingston, Madison, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Orle- ans, Ouachita, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupee, Rapides, Red River, Richland, Sabine, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Tensas, Terrebonne, Union, Vermilion, Vernon, Washington, Webster, West Baton Rouge, West Carroll, West Feliciana, and Winn in the State of Louisiana; and the counties of Adams, Alcorn, Amite, Attala, Benton, Bolivar, Cal- houn, Carroll, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Claiborne, Clarke, Clay, Coahoma, Coplab, Covington, DeSoto, Forrest, Franklin, George, Greene, Grenada, Hancock, Harrison, Hinds, Holmes, Humphreys, Issaquena, Itawamba, Jack- son, Jasper, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Jones, Kemper, Lafayette, Lamar, Lau- derdale, Lawrence, Leake, Lee, Leftore, Lincoln, Lowndes, Madison, Mar- ion, Marshall, Monroe, Montgomery, Neshoba, Newton, Noxubee, 105
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