[CPEO-MEF] APPROPRIATIONS RIDER WOULD BLOCK REFORMS OF ARMY CORPS

[mtptara@ime.net]

APPROPRIATIONS RIDER WOULD BLOCK REFORMS OF ARMY CORPS
WASHINGTON, DC, May 15, 2000 (ENS) - Republicans in the U.S. Senate have 
added a rider to the fiscal year 2001 Department of Agriculture 
appropriations bill that would block attempts to reform the Army Corps of 
Engineers. The rider passed the Senate Appropriations Committee last 
Tuesday and is scheduled to be reviewed by the full Senate tomorrow. The 
measure was introduced by Appropriations Committee Chair Ted Stevens of 
Alaska and Pete Domenici of New Mexico, who chairs the energy and water 
subcommittee. If approved, "None of the funds made available in this or any 
other Act may be used to restructure, reorganize, abolish, transfer, 
consolidate or otherwise alter or modify the organizational or management 
oversight structure; existing delegations; or functions or activities 
applicable to the Army Corps of Engineers," the rider reads.
"We are deeply concerned about the effect this provision would have on the 
authority and responsibility of the executive branch... to manage the 
Corps," wrote the Army in a statement, calling the rider "unwarranted and 
unproductive." The measure is an attempt to prevent civilian officials from 
wresting control of the Corps away from the military officers who run the 
Pentagon based agency. Recent criticism of the Corps for failing to 
consider environmental impacts of the massive water projects it oversees 
led to short lived management reforms ordered by Army Secretary Louis 
Caldera. The reforms, announced March 30, were withdrawn within a week. 
Stevens and two other Republican senators wrote to Defense Secretary 
William Cohen urging him to suspend Caldera's reforms, which would have 
strengthened civilian control of the Corps.
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/may2000/2000L-05-15-09.html

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