CONSTRUCTION PROGRAMS-Continued

works, Corps of Engineers, Department of the Army-Continued

$374,000 $268,000 $5,000,000 $28, 098, 000 $31, 848, 000 $41, 693, 000 $43, 000, 000 $38, 201, 000 $17, 518,000.

239, 820, 790 5,054, 580 26, 356, 000 164, 739, 000 200, 085, 430 234, 422, 250 219, 020, 500 196, 602, 000 377, 861, 680 1,192,873,125 125, 622, 755 120, 578, 100 159, 120, 560 129, 854, 200 95, 911, 600 42, 462, 900 24, 416, 300 29, 860, 945

1,432,693,915 130, 677, 335 146, 934, 100 323, 859, 560 329, 939, 630 330, 333, 850 261, 483, 400 221, 018, 300 407, 722, 625.

Agency priority

Maintenance and improvement of existing river and harbor works, Corps of Engineers, Department of the Army

1 Expenditures limited by law to $1,000,000.

Maintenance and improvement of existing river and harbor works, Corps of Engineers, Department of the Army-Continued

INACTIVE AUTHORIZED PROJECTS-Continued

Maintenance and improvement of existing river and harbor works, Corps of Engineers, Department of the Army-Continued

INACTIVE AUTHORIZED PROJECTS-Continued

Senator KERR. Has the Chief of Engineers yet advised the Budget Bureau with reference to your recommendations on the Keystone project in Oklahoma?

General PICK. Senator, I think that is with the Bureau of the Budget at the present time.

Senator KERR. Mr. Chairman, it will be our purpose to request the committee to consider that project. We hope that the letter will be here from the Budget Bureau. We think it will. And if not, we may seek the cooperation of the committee in securing that letter. Senator MCCLELLAN. Senator, these hearings are already scheduled up to July 20, and they may have to be continued on after that date. So there will be some opportunity at least.

Senator KERR. Thank you, sir.

General PICK. That letter was sent to the Bureau of the Budget on the 20th of May.

Senator SPARKMAN. I want to ask one question.

General Pick, I was very much interested in the general questions that were asked by Senator McClellan regarding the usefulness of these projects not only in our national economy at all times, but particularly in times of unemployment and recession. And I was

just wondering how big a backlog and that is the reason I suggested in these lists of projects Senator Kerr asked for the estimated cost also be put-how big a backlog you have. How flexible is this program? Or, rather, may I say how does it lend itself to acceleration in construction in the event we did need such an accelerated program for employment purposes?

General PICK. Senator, we have a number of projects which have been authorized. We have a number of projects that would be ready to go now. We could start construction on them in a very short time if we had the appropriations.

up.

We could increase that number of projects ready to go if we had an additional sum of money to do the necessary planning. That is, suppose we are taking up this year 25 projects. We work close Now, suppose we want to take up 125. Suppose we want to take up 500. Then we would have to do the preliminary planning. We know where the projects are, we know the locations of them, we know everything, but we just have not done the preliminary planning on them yet.

Senator SPARKMAN. How long would that take, just roughly?

General PICK. In these projects it does not take but just a little while to start the preliminary construction.

Senator SPARKMAN. In other words, it is a program that lends itself very well for making useful work and employment? General PICK. You can take it up very quickly.

I think, Colonel Potter, you had a figure of about $15,000,000. Colonel POTTER. We figured if we had $15,000,000 appropriation to work out the plans and specifications for the work that we would consider asking for in the 1951 budget, say, we would be able to put that money to work very promptly.

Senator MCCLELLAN. Is that for preparing the preliminary plans, this $15,000,000?

Colonel POTTER. Yes, sir. The preliminary plans and the first definite plans and specifications.

Senator MCCLELLAN. In other words, you could bring them up to a status where you could immediately let the contract and start work?

General PICK. Yes, that would allow us to get part of the work started.

Senator SPARKMAN. That is all, thank you.