Re: Bush administration forced cuts in flood protection in N.O. ($ went to Iraq)
No my friend, you simply don’t understand what you are looking at. The Corps requests twice what they think they will need, then bargains it down. Welcome to Washington.
Senators threaten action over Corps reforms
By Christopher Doering
Reuters —** June 19, 2002**
WASHINGTON — Two senators threatened to stall funding for a slew of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects unless Congress reforms the federal agency responsible for multibillion-dollar dams and public works.
Republican Robert Smith of New Hampshire and Democrat Russ Feingold of Wisconsin said the Corps’ credibility must be restored after years of criticism for mismanagement and make-work projects.
The two senators said they would block passage of the Water Resources Development Act — legislation that authorizes every two years which projects the Corps can begin — unless Congress agrees to overhaul the agency.
Lawmakers “are not going to get these projects unless we get reform,” Smith told reporters at a news conference. “We have a lot of things we can do on the floor to stop (the Water Resources Development Act) from moving. We’re not in a compromising mood.”
Several unsuccessful attempts have been made to reform the agency in Congress during the last few years. A bill introduced in March by Sen. John McCain of Arizona, Smith, and Feingold would subject the Corps to an independent peer review and improve the financial benefits of a project before it can be allowed to proceed.
The beleaguered Corps, the federal agency responsible for building dams and designating flood plans, has long been criticized by environmental groups for wasteful spending and rigging data to justify projects that create jobs. **The agency has a backlog of about $52 billion in unfinished projects. **
Despite the criticism, the Army Corps of Engineers has the support of many lawmakers whose districts benefit from large public works projects.
Smith said he was “confident” that both Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and the White House would support reform.
Lt. Gen. Robert Flowers, the chief engineer of the Corps, separately told a Senate environment panel he agreed changes were needed to reduce the agency’s huge backlog of projects. “We have about $5 billion worth of inactive projects that technically remain on our books but whose designs won’t solve the original problems or for which there is no longer support,” Flowers told a panel hearing.
http://espn.go.com/outdoors/conservation/news/2002/0626/1399394.html