COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS CLARENCE CANNON, Missouri, Chairman GEORGE H. MAHON, Texas JOHN TABER, New York HARRY R. SHEPPARD, California BEN F. JENSEN, Iowa ALBERT THOMAS, Texas H. CARL ANDERSEN, Minnesota MICHAEL J. KIRWAN, Ohio WALT HORAN, Washington W. F. NORRELL, Arkansas GORDON CANFIELD, New Jersey JAMIE L. WHITTEN, Mississippi IVOR D. FENTON, Pennsylvania GEORGE W. ANDREWS, Alabama GERALD R. FORD, Jr., Michigan JOHN J. ROONEY, New York HAROLD C. OSTERTAG, New York J. VAUGHAN GARY, Virginia FRANK T. BOW, Ohio JOHN E. FOGARTY, Rhode Island CHARLES RAPER JONAS, North Carolina ROBERT L. F. SIKES, Florida MELVIN R. LAIRD, Wisconsin PRINCE H. PRESTON, Georgia ELFORD A. CEDERBERG, Michigan OTTO E. PASSMAN, Louisiana GLENARD P. LIPSCOMB, California LOUIS C. RABAUT, Michigan JOHN J. RHODES, Arizona SIDNEY R. YATES, Illinois JOHN R. PILLION, New York FRED MARSHALL, Minnesota PHIL WEAVER, Nebraska JOHN J. RILEY, South Carolina WILLIAM E. MINSHALL, Ohio JOE L. EVINS, Tennessee KEITH THOMSON, Wyoming JOHN F. SHELLEY, California ROBERT H. MICHEL, Illinois SILVIO O. CONTE, Massachusetts KENNETH SPRANKLE, Clerk and Staff Director (II) HON. PAUL C. JONES, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MISSOURI HON. FRANK E. SMITH, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI HON. CLIFFORD DAVIS, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF TENNESSEE HON. ROBERT A. EVERETT, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF TENNESSEE STATE OF LOUISIANA Mr. Casyon. The committee will please come to order. We have with us at this time Congressman Jones of Missouri who is appearing in behalf of the Mississippi Valley Flood Control Association. Mr. Jones, will you please be seated and proceed? Mr. Jones. Mr. Chairman, if you will permit me, I will stand here because I am not going to take but a half minute of your time. I am here to represent and to introduce to you other representatives of the Mississippi Valley Flood Control Association, appearing here for the lower Mississippi. The presentation will be made and the general statement will be made by Mr. Peyton Berbling, chairman of the legislative committee of the association, who is also corporation counsel for the city of Cairo, Ill. He will, in turn, introduce four other witnesses who will maké oral statements and then we will have representatives of various levee and drainage districts, port authorities , and harbor facilities who will file statements in order to expedite the work of the committee. I want to express our appreciation for the courtesy that you have shown us in permitting us to appear here. I want to assure you that we are not responsible for this flood which is now approaching, but it seems that it came at a very appropriate time. (1) We have several Members of Congress who are here: Congressm Smith of Mississippi, Congressman Everett of Tennessee, Congre man Davis of Tennessee, and I am sure that Mr. Gathings of Arka sas, will be here before our allotted time is over, as well as Rep sentatives from Louisiana. Two of the Louisiana Representativ who are usually here, and would be here today were they not out the city on official business, are the Honorable Edwin Willis and ti Honorable Otto Passman. I would like at this time to present to you Mr. Berbling, who wi give the general statement and who will introduce the other witnesse Mr. CANNON. Off the record. (Discussion off the record.) Mr. Canxox. Mr. Berbling, we shall be glad to hear from you. STATEMENT OF MR. PEYTON BERBLING Mr. BERBLING. Thank you. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, m name is Peyton Berbling: I am the corporation counsel of the cit of Cairo, Ill., and I am also a member of the executive committee o the Mississippi Valley Flood Control Association. But I appea here today as the chairman of the legislative committee of tha association. As most of you know, the Mississippi Valley Flood Control Associ ation for many years has worked closely with Congress, the Corps of Engineers and other governmental agencies in the harnessing of the river to adequately provide flood control on the lower Mississippi for runoff of flood waters and drainage and to encourage greater use of the river as an artery of transportation. We represent at the local level the levee boards, cities, port commissions and other governmental bodies on the lower Mississippi, and that covers the area from about Cape Girardeau, Mo. to the Gulf of Mexico. In the short time that I will have to talk to you I want to discuss only those items recommended by the Bureau of the Budget which have an overall picture insofar as the lower Mississippi Valley is concerned. I will then call on these four witnesses who will testify as to particular projects in their area. We will not take up your time with discussion of items in which we ask no increase over the budget estimate. Attached to my prepared statement you will find a table showing the various items in this appropriation with the budgeted amount and in the third column the amount which our association believes is necessary for an orderly, economic and progressive program in the next fiscal year. You will find that there are a large number of items upon which we stand on the budget estimate because we believe the amounts will be adequate under the circumstances to continue the program at a reasonable rate. Our total asking is not what we necessarily would say that we believe should be appropriated, nor is it entirely within the capabilities of the Corps of Engineers. But, we recognize the overall fiscal problems of the Federal Government and we are trying to conscientiously take into account the need for economy and at the same time the need for flood control. As most of you are aware, the major flood control project in the lower Mississippi Valley was occasioned by the 1927 flood. Up until that time it was purely on a local level and mostly on a local level. The |