Hearings

CHAPMAN REVERCOMB, West Virginia W. LEE O'DANIEL, Texas
EDWARD MARTIN, Pennsylvania

EVERARD H. SMITH, Clerk

The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10: 10 a. m. in the committee room of the Capitol, Senator Chan Gurney (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.

Present: Senators Gurney, Bridges (chairman), Wherry, Cordon, Knowland, Hayden, Thomas of Oklahoma, Tydings, Russell, Overton, Robertson of Wyoming, and Revercomb.

Also present: Senator McClellan.

Senator GURNEY. The committee will come to order.

This is the subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee on War Department appropriations, and we are meeting to consider the War Department civil-functions appropriations bill for 1948, which has just come over from the House of Representatives in the last few days; in fact, the bill was passed by the House Thursday of last week, July 3.

With the intent of Congress being to recess the latter part of this month, if possible, and the fact that these appropriations should have been passed before June 30 in order to have funds for the new fiscal year, we will have to do everything we can now to speedily take care of it in the Senate.

Therefore, the committee has decided that each witness be as brief as possible. We intend to give everyone enough time to justify or to put in the evidence seeking to justify their particular project in which they are interested; but, still, we want them to be as brief as possible, and be as helpful to the committee as they can.

The rule of the full committee is that each witness present to the committee in advance a written copy of their formal statement, and then high-light it in their verbal testimony before this committee, the formal statement to be printed in advance of their oral testimony.

CORPS OF ENGINEERS

RIVERS AND HARBORS AND FLOOD CONTROL

STATEMENTS OF LT. GEN. R. A. WHEELER, CHIEF OF ENGINEERS; MAJ. GEN. R. W. CRAWFORD, PRESIDENT, MISSISSIPPI RIVER COMMISSION; BRIG. GEN. R. C. CRAWFORD, DEPUTY CHIEF OF ENGINEERS; BRIG. GEN. LEWIS A. PICK, DIVISION ENGINEER, MISSOURI RIVER DIVISION; COL. P. A. FERINGA, ASSISTANT CHIEF OF ENGINEERS FOR CIVIL WORK

Senator GURNEY. We are glad to have with us this morning as the first witness Lieutenant General Wheeler, Chief of the Army Engineers. Of course, the Army engineers are responsible for the construction of most of these projects.

General Wheeler, are you ready to tell the committee what you have in mind in reference to this bill?

CHART OF RIVER AND HARBOR AND FLOOD CONTROL PROGRAM

At the start of your testimony, I would like to have placed in the record at this point the chart that appears on the board, which you will furnish to the reporter.

(The chart referred to follows:)

River and harbor and flood control program, fiscal year 1948

General WHEELER. Yes, Senator Gurney. I have a prepared statement here, which I would like to furnish for the record.

Senator GURNEY. Very well.

(The statement referred to follows:)

OPENING STATEMENT BY GENERAL WHEELER

The approved budget estimates for the fiscal year 1948 for flood control and Eriver and harbor works total $290,862,100. The civil functions appropriation (bill as passed by the House included $157,541,800 for flood control and $95,171,700 for rivers and harbors, a total of $252,713,500, which is a reduction of $38,148,600 below the approved budget estimates.

As approved by the House, the amount included for new construction on river and harbor projects has been reduced from the budget estimate of $23,452,000 to $17,367,700, a reduction of $6,084,300, while the budget estimate of $2,500,000 for advance planning has been reduced to $1,250,000, making a total reduction of $7,334,300. I earnestly recommend the restoration of this amount. It is essential that funds be restored to certain projects in order to avoid terminating continuing contracts now under way, with the resultant expense of remobilizing labor and equipment at a later date, and the possibility of some loss or deterioration of work already performed. The reduced amounts for other projects would result in only partial accomplishment of channel improvements of prescribed dimensions, with resultant excessive costs for the remaining portions of such improvements when subsequently performed as separate jobs. I have prepared a statement listing the 21 river and harbor projects for which funds have been disallowed or decreased in the bill as passed by the House, together with a description and need for the work involved, which I would like to submit for the record at this time.

In the bill as approved by the House the total reductions for flood control, general, amounted to $31,314,200. We are asking that this amount be restored in full. If this amount is restored some projects will still be allotted less than shown in the approved budget estimates, but the total appropriation for flood control, general, will not exceed the amount approved by the Bureau of the Budget. The reason that funds for a few projects will remain at a lower figure than originally requested is that funds for 14 additional flood-control projects were added by the House.

The necessity for the requested restoration is explained in detail in supporting statements covering 35 flood-control projects which I shall insert in the record at the end of this statement. The same basic reason applies to each restoration; in brief that the amount for each project in the approved estimates was a minimum amount, reduction of which would impair construction efficiency with resultant increased ultimate cost. Construction funds were requested in the approved budget estimates only for the continuation of work, at the lowest practicable rate, on projects which are under way. To reduce these amounts would necessitate an uneconomical rate of construction on all the projects affected and the suspension and later resumption of work on some projects, with the attendant added cost of remobilization of labor and equipment at a later date, and the possibility of deterioration of work already in place.

I urge, therefore, restoration of the amounts shown in detail on the accompanying tables, so that we may continue to operate as nearly as possible on the basis of a sound and economical construction program, and that there may be realized as early as practicable the benefits from the Federal investment already made. Senator GURNEY. The chairman would like to state he notices the Deputy Chief of Army Engineers, Gen. R. C. Crawford, and he is glad to notice in the audience Brig. Gen. Lewis A. Pick from the Missouri River division, of Omaha, Nebr.

General WHEELER. I was about to give you the names of our witesses, Senator Gurney. In addition, we have the Chief of the Civil Works Division of my office, Colonel Feringa; and the president of the Mississippi River Commission, Gen. R. W. Crawford; as well as other assistants from my office on Flood Control and Rivers and Harbors. The high lights of my prepared statement, Mr. Chairman and memlers of the committee, are shown on this chart.