After McNary-Haugen 's defeat , Coolidge supported a less radical measure , the Curtis-Crisp Act , which would have created a federal board to lend money to farm co-operatives in times of surplus ; the bill did not pass . In February 1927 , Congress took up the McNary-Haugen bill again , this time narrowly passing it , and Coolidge vetoed it . In his veto message , he expressed the belief that the bill would do nothing to help farmers , benefiting only exporters and expanding the federal bureaucracy . Congress did not override the veto , but it passed the bill again in May 1928 by an increased majority ; again , Coolidge vetoed it . " Farmers never have made much money , " said Coolidge , the Vermont farmer 's son . " I do not believe we can do much about it . " Coolidge has often been criticized for his actions during the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 , the worst natural disaster to hit the Gulf Coast until Hurricane Katrina in 2005 . Although he did eventually name Secretary Hoover to a commission in charge of flood relief , scholars argue that Coolidge overall showed a lack of interest in federal flood control . Coolidge did not believe that personally visiting the region after the floods would accomplish anything , and that it would be seen as mere political grandstanding . He also did not want to incur the federal spending that flood control would require ; he believed property owners should bear much of the cost . On the other hand , Congress wanted a bill that would place the federal government completely in charge of flood mitigation . When Congress passed a compromise measure in 1928 , Coolidge declined to take credit for it and signed the bill in private on May 15
Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
Calvin Coolidge