The CHAIRMAN. So we have authorized $1,966,000,000 of work on projects to be completed under the rivers and harbors program? Colonel MOORE. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. The appropriation for the last fiscal year amounted to what for rivers and harbors, for construction, not maintenance; that is, the appropriation for the fiscal year 1949? General PICK. For construction $90,412,100, sir. The CHAIRMAN. General, what is the annual appropriation for maintenance that is required for river and harbor projects? General PICK. Our appropriations for all maintenance features of river and harbor projects during the past 5 years have been as follows: $47, 420, 000 | 1948_ 1945 1946 1947 40, 088, 000 1949 $76, 307, 000 76, 577, 000 The CHAIRMAN. For the record, what is the total estimated cost of the projects on which you submitted reports that have not been authorized by Congress? General PICK. The reports that we will submit to this committee involve a total estimated amount of $28,000,000. The CHAIRMAN. $28,000,000? General PICK. Yes. The CHAIRMAN. I would like to ask you this question: You have given us the total 1948 estimated cost, of the authorized river and harbor projects as $1,966,000,000, as I recall. General PICK. That is correct. The CHAIRMAN. Do you or not include in that the total cost of the projects, or do you in some cases include only the amount authorized to be appropriated for the partial accomplishment of projects already approved? For instance I have in mind a concrete case of a project on the Arkansas River that was approved but only authorized for partial accomplishment to cost $55,000,000. Mr. PICKETT. Do you recall the name of the project? The CHAIRMAN. That is what it is called. My recollection is that the Arkansas River project was approved in the River and Harbor Act of 1946, and that there was authorized for partial accomplishment of the project, $55,000,000. Now, my question is, does this figure of authorization include the projects that have been approved where similar partial authorization for the accomplishment of the project is included, or does it include the approval of the entire projects? General PICK. The authorization bill authorized all of the projects, and the money authorized was applied to particular projects. The CHAIRMAN. Just a minute, General. The language is "that this project is hereby approved." General PICK. Yes. The CHAIRMAN. And there is hereby authorized for the partial accomplishment of the project say $55,000,000. General PICK. That is correct. The CHAIRMAN. Now my question is whether or not this figure of $1,966,000,000 includes the approved cost of the entire projects, or whether it includes, in that case, the $55,000,000 authorized? General PICK. It includes only $2,000,000 of the authorized cost of $55,000,000. The remaining $53,000,000 is carried under "Flood control." The CHAIRMAN. All right. Now my next question is what is the total unexpended amount of authorizations for river and harbor projects heretofore authorized? General PICK. For the whole country? The CHAIRMAN. Yes, up to date. General PICK. I do not have that figure before me. The CHAIRMAN. Will you furnish that information for the record? General PICK. Yes, I will be glad to do that. For all of the projects? The CHAIRMAN. Yes, because that will be different from the $1,966,000,000. General PICK. Materially different. (The information requested follows:) The unexpended amounts for river and harbor projects at the beginning of fiscal year 1949 were $134,600,000. The CHAIRMAN. With respect to beach erosion, I believe the two projects are scheduled for the same day, are they not, Colonel Moore? Colonel MOORE. No; they are on different days. The CHAIRMAN. At all events, when the projects come on I will ask General Edgerton to appear and make a general statement. Mr. Fallon, do you have any questions of General Pick? Mr. FALLON. I have no questions, Mr. Chairman. I want to congratulate the general on his very informative statement and to welcome him as head of the engineers. General PICK. Thank you. The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Dondero. Mr. DONDERO. General Pick, if this Congress did not pass any authorization does the Board of Engineers have enough work to continue until the next session? General PICK. You mean authorized projects? Mr. DONDERO. Yes. General PICK. Or money authorization? Mr. DONDERO. Suppose we did nothing by way of authorizing more projects? General PICK. We would exceed the work we have-that is, we would exceed the money authorization. Mr. DONDERO. But you still would have enough work to continue if we did not authorize any new projects? General PICK. Yes; we would have plenty of work to do, but in many instances these new authorizations are a part of other works that we are doing and should be carried on simultaneously in order to get the major benefits from there on. Mr. DONDERO. The reason I asked the question and called your attention to it is this: Two years ago I asked General Wheeler of the Corps of Army Engineers a similar question and he frankly told us that at that time they had plenty of work to do, plenty of work ahead, and did not need a bill. I am wondering if the same condition still existed. General PICK. You see, Mr. Dondero, this is a long-range program, and in general that is true, but there are many times the projects that need authorization and should be built along with the other projects that we are building in the basin, if we want to get the maximum benefits and have them start accruing as soon as we get the money expended, and also to prevent deterioration. Mr. DONDERO. I am quite in sympathy with it. General PICK. I am thinking about rivers where they are losing land very fast by the meanderings of rivers. I just saw this week where a man had lost between 700 and 800 acres of very rich bottom land in 2 years. You see there are instances where there are authorizations needed to go along with the comprehensive program that we have already established and where it may be that additional authorization is needed in order to get the maximum benefits from the work in the particular locality and start the benefits accruing to the people and to the United States. Mr. DONDERO. I do not want you you to get the wrong impression from that question. General PICK. No. Mr. DONDERO. Because I have always supported the rivers and harbors program. General PICK. I just wanted to make that clear, as we have indicated, that we do have a tremendous backlog of projects. Mr. DONDERO. That was the understanding I had, that General Wheeler said there were some 1,200 authorized projects on which work had not been completed. That was at the beginning of the last session. General PICK. I do not know whether there were that many that we have not worked on. We have some 1,300 on which we have been working, that have been authorized, but most of the work has been done on them. In this river navigation program that is tied in with the program, where the work ought to go step by step and where additional authorizations are needed, that would be necessary at this time to carry on the project. Mr. DONDERO. To carry on the work? General PICK. Yes; and to prevent flood menace. The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Angell. Mr. ANGELL. It is true, is it not, General, that there are many new projects that by reason of our changing condition, which affect our national economy, that are just as essential as those that are on the approved lists? General PICK. That is correct, and I am thinking about new basins, and thinking about new developments in the long-range development program. Mr. ANGELL. And if we are going to protect our national economy and keep up with the times, it is essential that we continue to authorize new projects as new conditions arise? General PICK. That is correct, as I have stated previously. Mr. ANGELL. And while it is true that you have a backlog of projects on which the Army engineers can be working, nevertheless, the country would retrograde if we did not consider the authorization of new projects that are made necessary by reason of changing conditions? General PICK. That is correct. The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Trimble. Mr. TRIMBLE. I have no questions. Mr. McGREGOR. General Pick, I noted your comment relative to publicly owned shore frontages. Have you given any consideration, or has your department given any consideration to privately owned shore frontages, either from the maintenance standpoint or from the standpoint of protecting public or privately owned property? I am sure General PICK. That work, as you know, is very new. that the Beach Erosion Board has considered it and has been studying some of these projects, privately owned-I mean, of beaches as distinguished from the public beaches, some of the Government-owned beaches or areas. That authorization now is for the official consideration of only the publicly owned beaches. Mr. MCGREGOR. Then General, do I understand that your Department does recognize the public need, or at least a need for the study of maintenance activities on privately owned shore frontages? General PICK. Yes, of course, we have gotten into that and it is important work, and where a beach starts eroding it goes mighty fast sometimes, and we think that that work is important, and we think that if we are going to protect these beaches that we should protect them. The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Pickett. Mr. PICKETT. General, you have told the committee that there are 316 projects now authorized that are yet to be completed in the Rivers and Harbors Section of your Department? General PICK. Yes. Mr. PICKETT. How many rivers and harbors improvement projects have been completed since the work was undertaken over 100 years ago? General PICK. I will have to furnish that figure for the record. Mr. PICKETT. Will you also give us the cost of those projects, from the standpoint of construction as well as maintenance since the projects were authorized and completed? General PICK. Yes, we can furnish that information. (The information requested follows:) To the end of fiscal year 1948 work has been accomplished on about 1,000 river-and-harbor projects. The cost of new work on these projects amounts to $2,100,000,000 and the cost maintenance $1,105,000,000. Of these 1,000 projects some 575 have been fully completed at the end of fiscal year 1948. The cost of new work on the completed projects was about $670,000,000 and the cost of maintenance about $215,000,000. During the current fiscal year, it is expected that 23 additional river-and-harbor projects will be completed at a total cost of $56,400,000 for new work and $14,500,000 for maintenance to date, thus, making the total number of river-and-harbor projects completed to June 30, 1949, about 600. By that date the total cost of new work on completed projects will therefore be about $726,400,000, and the total cost of maintenance $229,500,000. Mr. PICKETT. How many projects have been authorized and are now in the course of construction? General PICK. I will have to provide that for the record, sir. Mr. PICKETT. And can you furnish also for the record the estimated cost of the completion of these projects together with the annual maintenance costs attendant to them? General PICK. Yes, sir; we can furnish that information. (The information referred to is as follows:) The number of active authorized projects on which no work has been done or which are partially completed is 316. The estimated cost of completing these projects is $1,966,000,000. The estimated annual cost of maintaining these projects after completion is $63,646,000. Mr. PICKETT. General, I would like to ask you this further question : You are familiar with the fact that in practically every rivers and harbors improvement project there is a substantial investment on the part of the local interests for the construction of it? General PICK. That is correct, sir. Mr. PICKETT. I am sure you have noted that in many instances during the course of the years where a project has been authorized and construction has been completed on it, there is then a request by local interests and others for a resurvey or reexamination of the existing project to determine whether or not certain improvements and enlargements there should be undertaken. General PICK. That is correct. Mr. PICKETT. There is a considerable backlog of authorizations pending today where you have made those resurveys and recommended enlargements or improvements of the existing project, is that correct? General PICK. That is correct. Mr. PICKETT. Now, the cost of those resurveys per annum is approximately what? General PICK. For 1950, $1,200,000 is included in the approved budget estimate for rivers and harbors surveys. Mr, PICKETT. Yes, sir; and I am restricting these questions to rivers and harbors. General PICK. River and harbor appropriations are not annual appropriations. When appropriated the funds become immediately available and remain available until expended. In recent years these funds have ranged from $1,000,000 to $2,500,000. Mr. PICKETT. Now, that is your annual appropriation of Federal funds for resurveys of rivers and harbors projects, is that correct? General PICK. That is not an annual appropriation, sir, but that was the amount of the appropriation that we had last Mr. PICKETT. You mean during the current fiscal year? General PICK. For the current year we had available about $1,200,000. Mr. PICKETT. All right, sir. year. Of course, that figure may vary depending on what Congress may do from year to year. General PICK. Yes, sir; but it is not all for providing resurveys. Some of it goes for the initial surveys and preliminary investigations. Mr. PICKETT. Do you happen to know offhand, or if not, does someone on your staff know offhand, how much of the $1,200,000 is being used for resurveys of existing projects? General PICK. About $500,000. Mr. PICKETT. Then, whatever expenditure there may be for the resurvey of projects that are already completed, it is the expenditure of Federal funds only; is that correct, General? General PICK. That is correct. There may be some projects, but they are the exception to the rule, where the local interests would provide for the survey, especially if the project when developed would be one to which the local interests would contribute a considerable sum for its accomplishment. Mr. PICKETT. As a general rule, however, the local interests do not contribute to the resurvey of any existing project. General PICK. Yes; that is the general rule. Mr. PICKETT. And you have a backlog of authorized resurveys now pending that you will not be able to reach for several years if your |