to say that those of us who have for many years lived with the river problems dealt with therein and wrestled in vain with their solution, fully appreciate and understand the magnitude of this exhaustive report. We believe that the report demonstrates that Amistad Dam is feasible, that it will control the river and conserve and regulate its annual flow and, above all, its construction will discharge our solemn treaty obligation with the Republic of Mexico. IV The Rio Grande River forms the boundary between the United States and Mexico and is therefore an international stream. The estimated 300,000 people living in the reach of the river above Falcon and up to the Amistad Dam site can only seek relief from the U.S. Government since the State of Texas and municipalities and counties situated on the river have no jurisdiction over the stream and public works thereon. The Federal Government recognized this situation when it negotiated and ratified the 1944 treaty with Mexico. Therefore, it is incumbent upon the Federal Government, jointly with Mexico, to provide for the relief and welfare of their respective inhabitants dwelling on the river. V The studies and report of the American Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission on the feasibility of the Amistad Dam project summarizes the great beneficial effect the dam and reservoir will have upon the Laredo area in Webb and Zapata Counties, to wit: 1. Effective flood control.-Disastrous floods have recurred on the Rio Grande over the years and studies of the IBWC show that disastrous floods will occur periodically in the future, subjecting the basin area below Amistad and above Falcon, and indeed below Falcon, to disasters similar to the 1954 flood. The memorandum report of the Corps of Engineers and various reports made to the Governor of Texas on the 1954 flood damage shows an actual monetary basin loss on the American side of approximately $12 million. Other reports on actual and resulting losses above Falcon estimate a loss in excess of $18 million plus a loss on the Mexican side of $30 million. It has been estimated that the Rio Grande Valley would have sustained a loss of $50 million had not Falcon Dam intervened. The Corps of Engineers report shows an actual property damage and loss to urban and suburban city of Laredo of $4,580,000, including approximately $1 million, to municipally owned utilities and facilities alone. Webb and Zapata Counties, according to the report, sustained a loss of $6,796,000. The President declared a disaster area all along the river and the Government spent millions of dollars in disaster relief for the public health and sanitation, food, shelter, and rehabilitation of dwellings and reconstruction of municipal facilities and public works. The construction of Amistad Dam would effectively control floodwaters on the river and forever prevent the terrible loss of life and property that has been recurring over the years. The people residing and owning property in the danger area are entitled to the support of the Federal Government in the building of the Amistad Dam as a multipurpose project since the protection of life and property is a primary duty of government. 2. Conservation of floodwaters.-The report before the committee shows that Amistad Dam with Falcon Dam would provide optimum conservation of storm and flood waters of the river and thereby (a) add annually to the usable U.S. water supply approximately 260,000 acre-feet of stored water for beneficial uses on the river; (b) insure a dependable and better supply of water in the river above Falcon Dam for domestic, industrial, and municipal uses; (c) insure the city of Laredo, with 70,000 inhabitants, and the city of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, adjoining Laredo across the river, with 65,000 inhabitants, a supply of municipal water in drought years, such as the year 1953 when the river ceased to flow at Laredo leaving both cities and 135,000 people without water for essential municipal and sanitary needs, particularly since the normal flow of the river reaches a critically low stage every year or so except in years of heavy rainfall on the watershed; (d) stabilize the economy of the estimated 200,000 population of the river basin area on the American side above Falcon by eliminating the flood hazard and the ever-present specter of no water in the river for domestic and municipal purposes as well as agricultural and industrial purposes; (e) make available to users above Falcon Dam the benefit of stored floodwaters which they will never have without Amistad Dam and to which they are entitled; (f) secure a dependable water supply to the Webb and Zapata Counties area now dependent solely upon the river water since extensive surveys have proven that the area has no underground source of potable water. 3. From the above it is apparent that the flood control and optimum conservation benefits to be derived from the construction of Amistad Dam will inure greatly to the benefit of the State of Texas and the United States, and will therefore serve the public interest. VI Therefore, it is strongly urged, in behalf of the people residing on the American side of the Rio Grande River Basin above Falcon Dam, and particularly in behalf of those residing in Webb and Zapata Counties which front on the river for approximately 150 river-miles, that the construction of the Amistad Dam, as a multipurpose project, be authorized by the Congress. Respectfully submitted in behalf of: THE CITY OF LAREDO, THE LAREDO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, THE COUNTY OF ZAPATA, By FRANK Y. HILL, Attorney and Authorized Representative. (A further statement by Mr. Hill appears on p. 246.) Mr. SELDEN. Thank you, Mr. Hill. We appreciate your remarks. Mr. Burleson Mr. BURLESON. Mr. Chairman, I want to compliment Mr. Hill upon his splendid presentation, and also compliment Mr. Rhodes for his very able and enlightening statement; also, if I may, include these other fine officials who are here. I know you have able leaders in Judge Lindsey, Judge Bibb, and particularly Senator Kazen, for all the work he has done in promoting this project. The very fine work you have done this far brings us to this point. As you know, I am quite a distance from Laredo, though I would be very glad to be there on the 21st of this month for your George Washington celebration. I have a letter on my desk from Mr. Borchers back there, at which time you are going to honor your very able Congressman Joe Kilgore. I think that is a fine thing. I am fearful that other duties might require me to be other places, under the circumstances of an election year. But, otherwise, I would make every effort to be there, and wish now for you a most successful occasion. Mr. HILL. Well, Mr. Congressman, you couldn't say anything about Congressman Kilgore that is good that we don't already know. Mr. BURLESON. I am sure of that. Mr. O'HARA. You gentlemen may have observed that we have a pretty high regard for Texas in the Congress of the United States. I don't know what we would do here without our great legislators from Texas. On this committee we have your great Congressman, Mr. Burleson, and, as you know, he is chairman of another full committee. He is not only one of the outstanding members of the Foreign Affairs Committee but he also is chairman of the House Administration Committee. 51563-60- -5 So we would naturally expect you Texans, when you come up here as witnesses to live up to the reputation of the Texans in the House and in the Senate. That you surely have done. It has been delightful to listen to you. Mr. SELDEN. Thank you, Mr. Hill. Congressman Kilgore, you have two other witnesses? STATEMENT OF HON. JOE M. KILGORE, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF TEXAS Mr. KILGORE. I wonder if I might make this comment. In 1954 when Laredo sustained the tremendous loss she did from the flood, if my memory serves me correctly, and I flew up there that day—Í was then running for Congress-there was no rainfall at all in the Laredo area, as I recall. They had a drought. At a 50- or 75-foot elevation above the river you still had dusty roads. When you got down to the area around the river it was all under water. When you come on down the stream, the next major populated area is below Falcon Dam, the existing structure on the Rio Grande. You then get into what we call the Lower Rio Grande Valley, an area composing most of Starr County, Hidalgo, Cameron and Willacy Counties. There are 450,000 people residing here approximately—there may be a better estimate than that, but somewhere in that range. There are several people here representing the Lower Rio Grande Water Committee.. They desire to make, through their spokesmen, a very short statement and as I told you, Mr. Chairman, initially, it was entirely likely they would want to come back at a later time to present a detailed statement. The reason is this. This area has a considerable number of irrigation districts that are the agencies of municipal corporations and subdivisions in the State of Texas who actually deliver the water from the Rio Grande for 700,000 to 750,000 acres of irrigated land. Each of those is a political entity in itself. Each governs its policies under the statutes of the State of Texas. It wasn't possible for them to work out a unified and combined position before this time. They feel they will be able to offer such very soon. As I indicated just before lunch, we are still working with them in an effort to assure that that position will be unified with the other reaches of the river, if that is at all possible. Here today is Mr. Garland Smith who is the attorney for one of those districts, the Mercedes Water District. The manager of this district, Mr. W. D. Parish, from Mercedes, is also here. Col. Kenneth M. Smith, of McAllen, is here. I think it would be proper to say for the record Mr. Smith came here as an individual; though in his official capacity-in which capacity he is not presenthe is the Water Master of the 93d District Court, which court has the jurisdiction of the water in the Rio Grande below Falcon, in the litigation in which the water rights are now sought to be settled. There is also Hon. Menton Murray, who is a member of the Texas Legislature from Harlingen and the dean of the south Texas delegation in the legislature, my very good friend with whom I served in the legislature. Then there is Hon. Kika de la Garza, a member of the Texas House of Representatives from Hidalgo County, who succeeded me in the legislature some years ago, also my very good friend. Mr. Worth Wood, a friend of mine for many years, who is the mayor of Harlingen, Tex., is here. Harlingen is located on the map in the lowermost county. The spokesman for this group who would like to make a very short statement is Mr. Jack Drake who is the executive vice president of the Valley Chamber of Commerce. He does not appear in that capacity, but appears as a representative of the Valley Water Committee. Mr. SELDON. Mr. Drake, you may proceed with your statement. STATEMENT OF JACK H. DRAKE, SECRETARY, LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY WATER COMMITTEE, WESLACO, TEX. Mr. DRAKE. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I am Jack H. Drake, secretary of the Lower Rio Grande Valley Water Committee of Weslaco, Tex. The Lower Rio Grande Valley Water Committee is a volunteer group of irrigation districts, attorneys, farmers, and businessmen interested in the orderly development and solution of the water problems of the Rio Grande watershed. We are thoroughly in accord that there exists a need for the Amistad. Dam project to provide additional flood control on the Rio Grande. We recognize and urge this additional flood control structure be built and maintained to prevent the loss of life and property damage that has accrued to the area above the Falcon Dam Reservoir as well as the need for additional protection in the area below Falcon Dam that has at times become inundated since the construction of Falcon Dam. Due to the short time we have had since being notified of this hearing, we respectfully request the committee to continue the hearings at a later date so that we may present our views on H.R. 8080. We submit that we can be prepared to present testimony to the committee any time after February 29, 1960. Thank you for your kind attention to this request. Mr. SELDEN. Mr. Drake, as chairman of this subcommittee I can assure you that the subcommittee will take no action on this legislation until you gentlemen have had an opportunity to be heard, and I will coordinate any additional hearings with your Congressman, Mr. Kilgore. You will be notified accordingly. (A further statement by Mr. Drake appears on p. 190.) Mr. DRAKE. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. KILGORE. Mr. Chairman, with regard to the matter of a continuance, it is neither Mr. Drake's purpose nor the purpose of any of his committee and certainly not my purpose in seeking to arrange their testimony at a later time, to delay this bill. Not only is it not our purpose, but we will work diligently with the committee to see that the testimony is promptly presented so that the committee may then proceed in orderly fashion with consideration of the bill at the earliest possible time. Mr. SELDEN. We will work with both Congressmen Kilgore and Fisher in connection with your request. Mr. DRAKE. Thank you. Mr. KILGORE. Mr. Chairman, there is also a man from my district here to appear, Mr. Glenn White, of Donna. Mr. White appears here as a spokesman for the Texas Farm Bureau Federation. He has been very active in matters of water legislation and water rights on the Rio Grande for many years. He is a director of the State Farm Bureau and though he appears for an agency larger than my district, since he is from home, I would appreciate very much presenting him to you. Mr. SELDEN. Mr. White, we are pleased to have you with us, and we will be glad to hear from you. STATEMENT OF GLENN G. WHITE, DONNA, TEX., REPRESENTING THE TEXAS FARM BUREAU FEDERATION Mr. WHITE. Thank you, gentlemen of the committee. I consider it quite a privilege to be able to come before this body and I want to say in passing that I have appreciated your very friendly reception of all of the gentlemen who have had matters to bring before you. Many times we come to Washington just a little bit-with a little fear and trembling for fear someone will shoot some stuff at us that puts us on the defensive and perhaps in an embarrassed position. As Congressman Kilgore indicated, I am a member of the State Board of Directors of the Texas Farm Bureau. The Texas Farm Bureau is a voluntary statewide organization. It is the largest farm organization in the State. We have about 80,000 farm family members. I am the chairman of the Water Committee of the Board of Directors and we have many of our people interested in the Rio Grande, and the Pecos River and the Devils River from the water standpoint. I am here today to bring into the record of this committee the statement of policy adopted by the Texas Farm Bureau in its annual convention. We are a policy organization on farm matters and irrigation water, of course, is of primary interest to those of us in the State who have a short supply of water. This is read from the policy statement: Whereas, the Governments of the United States and Mexico have by treaty agreed to construct several dams on the Rio Grande; and Whereas, said dams are to be constructed principally for the purpose of flood control and the impounding of water for irrigation; and Whereas, the laws of the State of Texas shall determine the manner by which the American share of the impounded irrigation water shall be apportioned to water users: Therefore, be it resolved, That the Texas Farm Bureau use all means possible to assure that such apportionment of irrigation water be in keeping with the provisions of the treaty, itself, that is, on the basis of prior beneficial use. It has been inferred there is a controversy between the upstream and downstream water users and I think the Texas Farm Bureau, in its statement of policy, has indicated that as long as the dams are constructed and water is handled under the provisions of the treaty, there is no controversy. There are other references in the policy statement of the Texas Farm Bureau that point up the fact that the date of |