COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS CLARENCE CANNON, Missouri, Chairman GEORGE H. MAHON, Texas HUGH Q. ALEXANDER, North Carolina JOHN TABER, New York H. CARL ANDERSEN, Minnesota FRANK T. BOW, Ohio CHARLES RAPER JONAS, North Carolina MELVIN R. LAIRD, Wisconsin ELFORD A. CEDERBERG, Michigan GLENARD P. LIPSCOMB, California JOHN J. RHODES, Arizona PHIL WEAVER, Nebraska KENNETH SPRANKLE, Clerk and Staff Director (II) J61 Ab DOCUMENTS PUBLIC WORKS APPROPRIATIONS FOR 1961 MONDAY, APRIL 4, 1960. FLOOD CONTROL, MISSISSIPPI RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES WITNESSES 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 PEYTON BERBLING, COOPERATION COUNSEL OF THE CITY OF CAIRO, ILL., AND MEMBER OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY FLOOD CONTROL ASSOCIATION HU B. MYERS, CHIEF ENGINEER, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS, STATE OF LOUISIANA C. S. TINDALL, GREENVILLE, MISS. WILL T. MCKIE, CLARKSDALE, MISS. JOHN T. DWYER, MEMPHIS, TENN. Mr. CANNON. 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 make 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. 902 We have several Members of Congress who are here: Congre Smith of Mississippi, Congressman Everett of Tennessee, Cor man Davis of Tennessee, and I am sure that Mr. Gathings of A sas, will be here before our allotted time is over, as well as I sentatives from Louisiana. Two of the Louisiana Represents who are usually here, and would be here today were they not the city on official business, are the Honorable Edwin Willis ar Honorable Otto Passman. I would like at this time to present to you Mr. Berbling, wh give the general statement and who will introduce the other witr Mr. CANNON. Off the record. (Discussion off the record.) Mr. CANNON. Mr. Berbling, we shall be glad to hear from you STATEMENT OF MR. PEYTON BERBLING Mr. BERBLING. Thank you. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen name is Peyton Berbling, I am the corporation counsel of the of Cairo, Ill., and I am also a member of the executive committ the Mississippi Valley Flood Control Association. But I ap here today as the chairman of the legislative committee of association. As most of you know, the Mississippi Valley Flood Control As ation for many years has worked closely with Congress, the Cor Engineers and other governmental agencies in the harnessing o river to adequately provide flood control on the lower Mississipp runoff of flood waters and drainage and to encourage greater u the river as an artery of transportation. We represent at the local level the levee boards, cities, port missions and other governmental bodies on the lower Mississippi. that covers the area from about Cape Girardeau, Mo. to the Gu Mexico. In the short time that I will have to talk to you I want to dis only those items recommended by the Bureau of the Budget w have an overall picture insofar as the lower Mississippi Valle concerned. I will then call on these four witnesses who will te as to particular projects in their area. You We will not take up your time with discussion of items in w we ask no increase over the budget estimate. Attached to my pared statement you will find a table showing the various item this appropriation with the budgeted amount and in the third col the amount which our association believes is necessary for an ord economic and progressive program in the next fiscal year. find that there are a large number of items upon which we stan the budget estimate because we believe the amounts will be adeq under the circumstances to continue the program at a reasonable Our total asking is not what we necessarily would say that we bel should be appropriated, nor is it entirely within the capabilities of Corps of Engineers. But, we recognize the overall fiscal probl of the Federal Government and we are trying to conscientiously! into account the need for economy and at the same time the need flood control. As most of you are aware, the major flood control project in lower Mississippi Valley was occasioned by the 1927 flood. Up u that time it was purely on a local level and mostly on a local level. |