PUBLIC WORKS FOR WATER AND POWER DEVELOP- MENT AND ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION HEARINGS BEFORE A SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE NINETY-SECOND CONGRESS FIRST SESSION AN ACT MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR PUBLIC WORKS FOR 57-373 O Printed for the use of the Committee on Appropriations U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 1971 EX OFFICIO MEMBERS ON RIVERS AND HARBORS ITEMS JENNINGS W. RANDOLPH, West Virginia EX OFFICIO MEMBERS ON ATOMIC ENERGY ITEMS CLINTON P. ANDERSON, New Mexico GEORGE D. AIKEN, Vermont Professional Staff (II) The subcommittee met at 2 p.m., in room S-126, the Capitol, Hon. John Stennis (chairman) presiding. Present: Senators Stennis, Ellender, Pastore, Young, and Smith. DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS STATEMENT OF LT. GEN. FREDERICK J. CLARKE, CHIEF OF ENGI NEERS ACCOMPANIED BY: MAJ. GEN. FRANCIS P. KOISCH, DIRECTOR OF CIVIL WORKS COL. LEONARD EDELSTEIN, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF CIVIL LT. COL. THOMAS W. NELSON, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF CIVIL COL. CARLYLE H. CHARLES, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF CIVIL LT. COL. LEON E. MCKINNEY, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF CIVIL LT. COL. FRANCIS J. WALTER, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF CIVIL LT. COL. PAUL C. DRISCOLL, EXECUTIVE, CIVIL WORKS IRWIN REISLER, ACTING CHIEF, PLANNING DIVISION, CIVIL M. S. GURNEE, CHIEF, OPERATIONS DIVISION, CIVIL WORKS DWAINE HARNESS, BUDGET AND PROGRAMS DIVISION, OFFICE SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIRMANSHIP AND MEMBERS Senator STENNIS. Our subcommittee will please come to order. Members of the committee, I have a statement which is fairly brief. I do think, though, at the first meeting of our committee, that these points ought to be covered. pt. 1, vol. 1 Let me express my very great appreciation and personal satisfaction in being chosen by Chairman Ellender of the Appropriations Committee to be the chairman of this subcommittee. It was here in this room as an ex officio member of this subcommittee, under the appointment of our late colleague, Dennis Chavez, that I first had a so-called important committee assignment. The Senator from North Dakota, I think, will remember this. The Senator from Maine came very soon thereafter. It is a great deal of satisfaction to serve with them. I have been on this committee, incidentally, if I may say, ever since then, long before I was a member of the Appropriations Committee, except for 1 year's break, I think. I want to give a special welcome here to our witnesses and also include in the record at this point the membership of our Public Works Subcommittee and say that as chairman, if I can just do half as well as the retiring chairman, Senator Ellender, has done, I will be satisfied and delighted. And we are pleased to have him conintinue as a member of this subcommittee. It will be a membership of real interest and not just a formal thing. The membership of the subcommittee is as follows: Senators Stennis, Ellender, McClellan, Magnuson, Bible, Byrd, Pastore, McGee, Mundt, Young, Hruska, Smith, Allott, Case, and Cotton. I am going to call the names of those we have with us this afternoon, just giving part of their title and their last name. Senator YOUNG. Will the Senator yield? Senator STENNIS. I am glad to yield to the Senator. Senator YOUNG. I would like to say on behalf of the minority, we are very happy you are chairman of this subcommittee. You have handled every assignment since you have been in the Senate very ably. You have had a long and intense interest in Corps of Engineers projects, and I look forward to working with you. Senator STENNIS. Thank you very much, Senator, and Senator Smith. We have plenty to do but we will enjoy it and we will have a lot of good help. Right at this point, I want to say, too, that we will have with us Mr. Ken Bousquet, and that is a real start. He will be assisted by Mr. Edmund King and Mr. Guy McConnell. That is another good start on our work. INTRODUCTION OF WITNESSES Now, we have with us the Chief of Engineers, Lt. Gen. Frederick J. Clarke, who will be the first and major witness. Also, we welcome Maj. Gen. Francis P. Koisch, Mr. Harry Cohen, Brigadier General Groves, Colonel Edelstein, Lieutenant Colonel Nelson, Colonel Charles, Lieutenant Colonel McKinney, Lieutenant Colonel Walter, Lieutenant Colonel Driscoll, Mr. Irwin Reisler, Mr. Gurnee, Mr. Caldwell, Mr. Smet, and Mr. Harness. They are from Civil Works of the U.S. Army Engineers. We are glad to have you and we will be seeing more of you. PUBLIC WITNESSES Would the committee bear with me for this statement. I want to recognize the contribution that is made in this nationwide program by the civilians outside of public life, men and women with the great sincerity, integrity, and ability to come here to testify and sponsor these important projects and support them in their home communities. and to protect our most precious resources, soil and water. CORPS OF ENGINEERS A special word about the Corps of Engineers. The Corps of Engineers has been engaged in water resource development since 1824 when Congress, in the act of May 24, 1824, authorized the first river improvement bill and assigned the responsibility for the improvement of rivers and harbors for navigation to the Corps of Engineers. Subsequent acts have broadened the responsibilities of the Corps of Army Engineers to include all phases of water resource development, such as flood control, power, water supply, major drainage, and erosion control. The corps has faithfully carried out its responsibilities in this field for 146 years. The benefits which flow from water resource projects constructed by the corps exceed their cost by severalfold, and these projects will continue to produce benefits for the American people. I hope to bring this out on Friday when we have a general review of the construction program of the Corps of Engineers. It will be my intention to vigorously support this program at a funding level commensurate with its importance to the development of an improved quality of life for all the American people. From time to time, various proposals have been advanced which would transfer the civil functions of the Corps of Engineers either to the Department of the Interior, or to create a new Department of Natural Resources and transfer the civil functions of the Corps to the new Department. The President's Council on Executive Organization, usually called the Ash committee, has recommended a sweeping reorganization of the Federal Government, including the creation of a Department of Natural Resources and the transfer of the broad comprehensive planning of the Corps to the new Department. The President is now considering legislative proposals to implement the recommendations of the Ash committee. It is my understanding various groups are urging that his proposals to the Congress, with respect to the transfer of certain functions of the Corps, go even beyond the recommendation of the Ash committee. I believe the transfer of any of the present responsibilities of the Corps to a Department of Natural Resources would be unwise. In the first place, the Corps has an excellent record, and I do not believe any new agency could improve on its performance. However, in my judgment, the overriding consideration is the effect on its military functions. The proposed transfer strikes at the vitals of our national defense posture. The civil works program is essential to maintain the the mobilization capability of the Army to meet construction requirements in national emergencies. Even the limited transfer of broad planning functions recommended by the Ash committee would be a step in the wrong direction and should be resisted, I think. If that limited objective is accomplished, efforts to further diminish the Corps' valuable training in the planning |