The White House today urged elimination of more than 100 projects from a massive U.S. Army Corps of Engineers package pending on the Senate floor. The move came one day after party leaders in the Senate signed off on a managers' amendment pruning the cost of the Water Resources Development Act from $31 billion to $13.9 billion, according to a CBO analysis. But in a Statement of Administration Policy released today, OMB estimated the projects would cost "at least $15 billion and perhaps much more in discretionary spending." OMB said while many of the projects had undergone merit-based reviews, "there are many others that have not, and therefore may be wasteful spending." OMB labeled the spending on wastewater and drinking water projects as "unacceptable" in an era when fiscal restraint was needed, but stopped short of a veto threat.
The budget office also urged eliminating funding for beach nourishment and mine reclamation projects, and of provisions reducing the non-federal share of funds for safety-related projects and providing "credits" to local and state governments to help cover the cost of work done prior to the signing of a cooperative agreement with the Corps. OMB also objected to a plan to expand the administration-backed effort to restore the ecosystem of coastal Louisiana, and expressed "concerns" about a proposal to build a 72-mile federal levee system in the region. OMB said since it was developed before Hurricane Katrina, the levee project might have to be redesigned to make it consistent with the restoration plan envisaged in a yet-to-be finished study commissioned in the aftermath of the storm. OMB also expressed constitutional reservations about provisions requiring the Secretary of the Army and other executive branch officials to submit legislative proposals to Congress. The budget office said this would be "inconsistent with the president's exclusive authority under the constitution" to make recommendations to lawmakers. The Senate is expected to approve the water resources bill Tuesday.
