Posted on 09/01/2005 4:35:42 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - The White House scrambled Thursday to defend itself against criticism that it has consistently proposed cutting the budget for Army Corps of Engineers water and flood control projects — including several that could have mitigated the disaster in New Orleans.
Just in February, President Bush proposed cutting the Corps' budget by 7 percent. The year before, Bush proposed a 13 percent cut.
Both cuts are part of an annual ritual in Washington in which the president shortchanges lawmakers' pet projects, knowing Congress will restore the money later on.
On Thursday, however, the Bush White House made available top Corps officials to assure reporters that cuts to the agency's budget did not cause the disaster. Even though the administration has chronically cut back on the Corps of Engineers' own requests for funding — including two key New Orleans-area projects — White House officials trumpeted the administration's support for the Corps.
"Flood control has been a priority of this administration from Day One," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters.
Mike Parker, a former Mississippi congressman who was booted as civilian head of the Corps in 2002 after criticizing the White House budget office, said Hurricane Katrina was so powerful that flooding was inevitable. But it might not have been as bad.
"I'm not saying that this would not have occurred in New Orleans in this situation," Parker told The Associated Press. "I am saying that there would have been less flooding if all the projects had been funded."
A senior Corps commander discounted the notion the disaster could have been averted by full funding of projects such as new and beefed up levees to protect against hurricane surges from Lake Pontchartrain and improving pumping and drainage capacity in New Orleans.
"These (projects) were not funded at the full ability of the Corps of Engineers to execute the project," said Lt. Gen. Carl Strock, commander of the Army Corps of Engineers. "But the important question is, 'Would that have made a difference?' And my assessment is, no, it would not."
But Strock did acknowledge that more funding for the Southeast Louisiana Flood Control Project would allow the Corps to more quickly pump out the floodwaters inundating New Orleans.
"Had we had the SELA project finished ... we could more efficiently move the water out of the system because it's a big drainage project," Strock said.
Other presidents also have taken aim at the Corps' budget. President Carters' first veto came against a big water projects bill passed by a Democratic-dominated Congress. And President Clinton squeezed the Corps budget as well. Doing so frees money for other White House priorities.
"I fought every ... administration when they tried to use the Corps of Engineers as a piggy bank to pay for other projects," said former House Appropriations Committee Chairman Bob Livingston, a Louisiana Republican who represented the New Orleans suburbs for more than 20 years. "I had major battles with the Clinton administration."
"Going back to Carter. They've all sought to draw down the Corps of Engineers and put it elsewhere," he said.
Former Louisiana Sen. John Breaux (news, bio, voting record), a Democrat, said it was clear during his time in Congress that flood control projects were shortchanged.
"Those levees are OK under normal times but once every hundred years, that's not enough," he said in an interview. "We've all said for years that a category 4 or 5 hurricane hit just right on New Orleans, there was nothing there sufficient to prevent New Orleans from being 20 feet under water."
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Other presidents also have taken aim at the Corps' budget. President Carters' first veto came against a big water projects bill passed by a Democratic-dominated Congress. And President Clinton squeezed the Corps budget as well. Doing so frees money for other White House priorities.
"I fought every ... administration when they tried to use the Corps of Engineers as a piggy bank to pay for other projects," said former House Appropriations Committee Chairman Bob Livingston, a Louisiana Republican who represented the New Orleans suburbs for more than 20 years. "I had major battles with the Clinton administration."
"And President Clinton squeezed the Corps budget as well."
This is useful to know.
Why should the federal taxpayer subsidize this? If you're going to build a city in a hole next to the ocean, you should expect to pay for the levees yourself.
Oh, I loathe the press. By now though, the main of America is sick of "Bush's Fault". IOW, the presstitutes and left overplayed their hand. Those that hate/blame W already do and will. In any event, let's do an investigation/audit into LA's fed $$ they did receive, particularly around NOLA...
No big shock here. The insane rantings of Moonbats that begins on hyper-Leftist outlets like Kos and DU eventually finds it's way to the supposedly "mainstream" AP.
Livingston was driven from office by the Democrats.
I agree. This is not going to change one single mind from right to left. Of course, minds are changed in the other direction every day, by numerous factors, all related to reality.
I like your comment about investigations and audits as well. There is lots of time to blunt the criticism coming at our side before the next election. Just have the FBI or the GAO (or whatever agency is appropriate) launch a few investigations. No big fanfare or anything. Let the results dribble out slowly. Cumulative effect will be strong over time.
Don't worry about the flailing of the left during this time of panic. It's just more self gratification from the people who don't know how to do anything else with their hands.
(steely)
OC California is considered the worst potential flood disaster in the nation. The project to raise Prado Dam was started over 35 years ago, when OC was agricultural. They predicted 5000-8000 then, today it would be 20000-100000 or more. Prado Dam was almost topped last winter. Around the same time the contract was finally let out to raise the Dam 14 feet(?, or was it 28 feet). In the OC case environmentalist held up the project for 30 years.
With the NO levy system I would check that first to see what the reasons were. With a levy system, for improvements to be effective you must raise all the dikes at the same time.
Apparently the Corps of Engineers is pretty corrupt; the following two paragraphs are one example:
RECORD AMOUNT OF WATER PROJECT PORK IN WRDA BILL; MANAGERS AMENDMENT EXPANDS WATER RESOURCES BILL BY $1.6 BILLION
http://www.taxpayer.net/TCS/PressReleases/2005/7-14wrda.htm
This nightmare of a bill does little more than spend billions of dollars on local pork projects for the districts of powerful lawmakers, while solidifying the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as one of the most wasteful, fiscally irresponsible agencies in the nation.
WRDA is normally a biennial bill, but a series of scandals involving the Corps of Engineers – including documented evidence that the Corps manipulated data and willfully overestimated project benefits – has kept Congress from enacting a water resources bill since 2000. But this bill ignores the Corps’ recent history of corruption and rejects years of reform efforts by fiscally responsible lawmakers.
Re#9 Well stated. In light of the politicization of this tragedy, the GOP should announce a Congressional investigation beginning with said audit. Let the chips fall where they may...
lemme guess...the army corps did with their budget what california did with their federal bucks, which were designated for cutting down all the dead trees in the san bernardino mountains before the fires two years ago....
took ten years to blow it on "studying" the situation, set themselves up in cushy offices, and basically went around and around about nothing.
Thanks for the link!
Hey, all, here's a "talking point" for answering these 'Rats wailing about federal budgets for the Army Corps of Engineers: ask them why Kennedy and Kerry were allowed to funnel $15 billion or so into "Boston's BIG DIG" while the precious city of New Orleans staggered along in peril of its very existence? Why didn't Kerry-Kennedy and all the 'Rats in the Louisiana delegation push for that money to be poured into 'saving' New Orleans????
http://www.taxpayer.net/TCS/wastebasket/transportation/4-12-00.htm
Also, remember that all through the 8 YEARS of the Clinton administration, 4 years of Carter, not to mention the 40+ YEARS of a mainly Democratic Congress, there was ample opportunity to push for what these Monday-morning quarterbacks now say should have been done... it is pure ugly partisan politics that these hacks are trying to make it an issue against the Bush administration now.
That's a bit over the top.
Starting with "Moon" Landrieu" former Mayor, (Mary's father), Mitchell Landrieu, Lt. Governor of Louisiana presently (Mary's brother) and Mary Landrieu's BANK ACCOUNTS. Let's investigate the entire CRIMINAL family!
The only response I am giving the press is to Go to Hell.
It's all these deserve as they pay politics with Lives.
Meanwhile the man that cares and is competant that isn't playing PR games or politics is, Yep, that man is our President.
So go to Hell press, Libs, whomever else engages in this. I won't waste my time pointing out on defense how despicable and twisted what you say is, only how you are reacting and that is why the American people HATE you.
Exactly...
ping for later
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