Editorial: Waterways Financing: Will The Watched Pot Boil?

On July 1 the U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly for $5.298 billion in appropriations for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ civil works program.

Perhaps indicative of Senate attitudes about the Corps’ money quandary and the condition of our waterways system, the body voted for $552 million more than the U.S. House had approved in May, fully $785 million more than President Bush had requested, and $597 million more than Congress enacted for the current year. What will come out of the forthcoming Senate-House conference on the bill is anybody’s guess.

Supporters of water resource development and towing have been watching the situation literally for months as various congressional bodies expressed opinions on the issues. Now that the die is cast, watching will again be in vogue. Will the watched pot boil?

Watching is one thing, but waiting is another. It still behooves supporters of the Senate version of the bill to let their legislators know how they feel.

The Senate passed its version just before the Fourth of July recess. They are due back in Washington today (July 11) and then will go back out August 1 through September 2 for what is called a "summer district work period," with Labor Day coming right afterward. Worth Hager, president of the National Waterways Conference, said the Appropriations conference "will probably be in September." The staff usually tries to work out some of the details ahead of time, she said.

Readers should understand that with such vast differences existing between the Senate and House bills, the conference could be pretty well drawn out. Pre-conference meetings are also a possibility, Hager said.

The difference in the money amounts represents a key issue. But how the Corps spends its money and manages to keep projects moving is of considerable concern to some in the House. Rep. David Hobson (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Energy & Water Development Subcommittee, has been greatly concerned about the Corps’ management of continuing contracts as well as reprogramming, as reflected in the report accompanying the House Corps appropriations bill. According to Hager, Hobson’s subcommittee has lately been reviewing each request and has also involved the office of the assistant secretary of the Army-civil works.

On June 30, right on the heels of some major changes in the Corps planning process, Maj. Gen. Don Riley released a new guidance on the use of continuing contracts for the Corps’ civil works program. The guidance contained three directives:

• Continue to perform good acquisition and contract planning.
• Plan to fully fund contracts that have a duration of two fiscal years or less.
• Partially funded continuing contracts must still go to headquarters for approval.

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