PUBLIC WORKS APPROPRIATIONS FOR 1961 HEARINGS BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS EIGHTY-SIXTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION SUBCOMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORKS APPROPRIATIONS LOUIS C. RABAUT, Michigan MICHAEL J. KIRWAN, Ohio JOHN E. FOGARTY, Rhode Island JOHN J. RILEY, South Carolina JOE L. EVINS, Tennessee BEN F. JENSEN, Iowa COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS CLARENCE CANNON, Missouri, Chairman GEORGE H. MAHON, Texas HUGH Q. ALEXANDER, North Carolina JOHN TABER, New York H. CARL ANDERSEN, Minnesota CHARLES RAPER JONAS, North Carolina MELVIN R. LAIRD, Wisconsin ELFORD A. CEDERBERG, Michigan GLENARD P. LIPSCOMB, California JOHN J. RHODES, Arizona KENNETH SPRANKLE, Clerk and Staff Director (II) N. B. BENNETT, ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER FOR POWER AND GENERAL ENGINEERING W. I. PALMER, ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER FOR IRRIGATION AND A. R. GOLZÉ, ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER FOR ADMINISTRATION D. R. BURNETT, CHIEF, DIVISION OF PROJECT DEVELOPMENT Mr. CANNON. The committee will be in order. We take up this morning the estimates for the Bureau of Reclamation. Mr. Dominy, we are very glad to have you with us. us your statement at this time, if you will. GENERAL STATEMENT You may give Mr. DOMINY. Mr. Chairman, I have a prepared statement here. Would it be your desire that I read that into the record? Mr. CANNON. I believe we would like to have it read, if you please, Mr. Dominy. Mr. DOMINY. Very well, Mr. Chairman. STAFF CHANGES Before I do that, I would like to bring the committee up to date on my Washington staff. There have been a number of changes during the past 10 months since I took over as Commissioner. Mr. CANNON. Off the record. (Discussion off the record.) Mr. DOMINY. Mr. N. B. Bennett, who used to be head of planning, is now Assistant Commissioner for Power and General Engineering; Mr. W. I. Palmer, is now Assistant Commissioner for Irrigation and Project Development; I brought from the field out at Boise, Idaho, Mr. Gilbert Stamm, who has been chief of our irrigation work in the Pacific Northwest for a long while, and he is now Chief of Irrigation in Washington; I brought from Texas Mr. Don Burnett, who has been doing our planning work in the Southwest for a good many years, and he heads up our planning division in the Washington office, and of course Mr. Don Campbell, you remember, who has been with us for years, is head of power and, of course, Assistant Commissioner Golzé, whom the committee is very familiar with, continues as our Assistant Commissioner for Administration. I am very proud of this staff, and I hope that our efforts will please the committee. It is a pleasure to appear before this committee to discuss Reclamation's proposed program and fund requirements for fiscal year 1961. The work of the Bureau of Reclamation reflects the delegation of a sizeable responsibility in connection with the development of the water resources of the West. To maintain this responsibility at a reasonable level, six new starts have been included in the budget, four in construction and rehabilitation appropriation and two in the Upper Colorado River Basin program. To carry forward this program in all of its phases in fiscal year 1961, we are requesting an appropriation of $309,979,000. This compares with enacted appropriations for fiscal year 1960, regular and supplemental, of $255,515,250 and a proposed supplemental appropriation pending before this Congress of $21,000 for financial assistance to the city of Coulee Dam, or a total increase of $54,442,750. This increase is distributed as follows: Approximately $5 million for the purchase of foreign currencies under title I of the Agricultural Trade and Assistance Act of 1954, as amended, on which I shall comment later; some $41.5 million represents increases in construction and rehabilitation; operation and maintenance has been increased by $3.5 million and the loan program is up some $7 million. Decreases of $2.9 million for Upper Colorado River Basin fund and a small decrease in the general investigations item have resulted in netting the increase to $54 million plus. A word of explanation concerning the large increase in construction and rehabilitation is first in order. About half represents increased requirements for the Central Valley project, attributable to the near peak construction period of the Trinity River Division. Other construction and rehabilitation increases are due to fund requirements of about $4 million for the four new starts and a normal increase in programed work on other projects started in recent years. The estimate for 1961 is comprised of activities as follows: General investigations, $4,650,000; construction and rehabilitation, $173,950,000; Upper Colorado River Basin fund, $71,600,000; operation and maintenance, $31,900,000; general administrative expense, $4,320,000; loan program, $18,437,000. However, it also includes $4,957,000 for purchase of foreign currencies and small amounts under separate appropriation headings for the disposal of Boulder City, Nev., and Coulee Dam Community, Wash., to assist these communities in their transition from Federal to State jurisdiction. These amounts, if made available, with the carryover funds from the prior year, will permit the Bureau to finance a carefully planned program for all of these activities. I should like to comment briefly on each of the appropriation items comprising the Bureau's estimate. GENERAL INVESTIGATIONS The estimate for 1961 is $4,650,000 as compared to the appropriation for 1960 of $4,668,992. Including carryover funds from prior years and contributions, the program for 1961 is 7 percent less than that for 1960. I should like to point out here that while the estimate for 1961 includes $250,000 for engineering methods and materials research, an activity not included in the general investigations appropriation in 1960, the estimate for advance planning amounting to $254,000, formerly carried under general investigations, has been transferred to the construction and rehabilitation appropriation for fiscal year 1961. Now, I believe that is in accord with the committee's wishes, because advanced planning is always identified directly with the anticipation of going into construction and is tied closely to the construction budget, more closely than it is to planning. These items, in effect, cancel each other out, leaving the comparison for this appropriation item for 1960 and 1961 on equal terms. Except, as I say, we are 7 percent under in 1961 on what we had in the planning program in 1960. The Bureau's general investigation activities in the 17 Western States and Alaska, except those in the Missouri River Basin, are performed with funds from this appropriation. The Missouri River Basin investigations are part of the construction and rehabilitation appropriation item. Advance planning is also in construction and rehabilitation this year except for the Upper Colorado River Basin items. The estimate provides for only a minimum program for 1961 if the Bureau is to continue effectively its long-range investigation and planning activities. SPECIAL FOREIGN CURRENCY PROGRAM The special foreign currency program mentioned earlier, which has been identified as a separate appropriation item under general investigations, will afford the Bureau an opportunity to avail itself of scientific and research capabilities of certain foreign countries by the use of U.S. credits which cannot be used outside of those countries. The work to be done will be supplemental and in addition to the research projects performed in our domestic laboratories. While we are requesting $4,957,000 in fiscal year 1961, only $1 million is scheduled for expenditure during the budget year-the remainder to be spread over a 2-year period. I would like to elaborate on that for just a moment. This research would be of great value to us in carrying on the work of our program here in the United States. We think it would also be of considerable value to those countries. The credits are there, and if we could send our technicians over there to initiate this research, to get together data and engineering advice and counsel, we think it will benefit our people and in the same process be of great value to the countries where we are carrying out the research activity. Mr. TABER. Does that come under this foreign aid appropriation also? Mr. DOMINY. No, sir. |