o devise arrangements for such cooperation and coordination of Federal s in the region is, I believe, clear. But the planning agencies should be d to take up such proposed arrangements with the departments concerned the President. There should be opportunity for consultation and conFinal authority to effect coordination should rest either with the departmarily responsible for administration of the program, or with the Presi'his may be the manner in which section 4 (b) would operate in practice, nuch as the language used is susceptible of a different interpretation, it te confusion and may seriously interfere with effective administration if 3 present form. attaching a suggested revision of various sections of H. R. 7365, making ges I have urged in this report to enable H. R. 7365 to realize its splendid es and to cure it of the weaknesses which I have discussed. reference of this bill to the Bureau of the Budget, as required by Budget 336, the Acting Director thereof advised the Department of Agriculture, te of July 8, 1937, that "there would be no objection by this office to your tion to the committee of such report on this bill as would not be inconith the President's message of June 3, 1937, on flood prevention and emergencies (H. Doc. No. 261, 75th Cong.)." ncerely, HARRY L. BROWN, Acting Secretary. APPENDIX d Revisions or H. R. 7365, Suggested in ACCOMPANYINg Report of SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE page 8, line 21, strike the word "effecting" and substitute in its place "recommending". ɔage 8, line 24, after the word "the" insert the phrase "heads of and with page 9, line 3, after the word "of" insert the phrase "the heads of". page 18, line 19, change "Title II" to "Title III" and insert immediately a new title II as follows: "TITLE II STRUCTION, OPERATION, AND CONDUCT OF PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES 201. (a) Whenever, pursuant to this or any other Act of the Congress ect or activity (of a type in respect of which a regional planning agency ized to prepare plans under section 6) has been approved by the Presidopted by Congress, as the case may require, such project or activity entrusted for construction and operation to the Department or agency ited States regularly charged with the administration of such or similar or activitites. Such projects or activitites as shall relate to the prof navigation, the control and prevention of floods, the safeguarding of e waters, or the reclamation of the public lands shall be constructed, and conducted primarily for such purposes. In order to effectuate the purposes of such projects with the greatest public benefit and, so far as ent with such primary purposes, to avoid the waste of water, water nd other property of the United States, such Department or agency, the Congress may otherwise provide, shall have such powers (subject visions of this act relating to the powers and duties of the regional power es provided for hereinafter) as may be necessary or appropriate to conperate, and carry out such project or activity so as to accomplish the and to fulfill the requirements specified in subsections (a) and (b) of including the power (to the extent necessary or appropriate to construct, or carry out such project or activity entrusted to it, and works and incidental thereto) o acquire, construct, operate, maintain, and improve dams, locks, reserees, spillways, floodways, fishways, conduits, canals, roads, roadways, harves, terminals, sewage disposal and water purification works, and à facilities, and structures, equipment, and facilities incidental thereto. UL 101 the generation anu transmissivii vi electric en the Department or agency deems necessary or approropriate to supply "(3) To develop and provide such methods and conditions of water ar utilization as the Department or agency deems necessary or appropriate vent and abate floods and droughts. "(4) To acquire, by purchase, lease, condemnation, or donation such re personal property and any interest therein, and to dispose of such p property or interest therein, as it deems necessary or appropriate in carry its purposes under this Act, and may, subject to the prior approval of the dent, sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of any such real property or interest as in its judgment is no longer necessary in carrying out the provisions Act: Provided, however, That no real property shall be disposed of upon there is a permanent dam, hydraulic power plant, fertilizer plant, or mu plant, heretofore or hereafter constructed by or on behalf of the United In order further so to effectuate such primary purposes in the constr and operation of dams for projects entrusted to a department or agency department or agency, insofar as practicable, shall make provision, in th struction of any such dam, for such foundations, sluices, penstocks, and works as may be necessary or appropriate to prevent the waste of water at such dam and to make possible the economical future development of "(b) Whenever, pursuant to this or any other Act of the Congress, a or activity is entrusted to a department or agency, such department or a applicable to all departments and agencies of the United States engaged in ca out the provisions of this title." At page 18, line 21, change the section number "201" to "301". At page 23, line 20, change the section number "202" to "302". At page 25, line 8, change the section number "203" to "303". At page 32, line 21, change the section number "204" to "304". At page 35, line 5, change the section number "205" to "305". At page 37, line 15, change the section number "206" to "306". At page 38, line 6, change the section number "207" to "307". At page 43, line 10, change the section number "208" to "308". At page 50, line 5, change the section number "209" to "309". At page 51, line 4, change the section number "210" to "310". At page 52, line 5, change the section number "211" to "311". At page 52, line 15, change the section number "212" to "312". At page 52, line 22, change the reference to "sections 207 and 208" to "se At page 53, line 1, change the title number "III" to "IV". At page 53, line 3, change the section number "301" to "401". At page 53, line 7, change the section number "302" to "402". DEAR MR. MANSFIELD: As requested in your letter of June 9, I am glad t you my comments on H. R. 7392, a bill to provide for the creation of conserv authorities, and for other purposes. H. R. 7392 is a companion bill to S. 2555. I have prepared a compreh statement covering S. 2555, and, in order to avoid confusion, am submitti AR SENATOR SMITH: I have carefully considered the bill, S. 2555, introduced nator Norris, entitled "A bill to provide for the creation of conservation rities, and for other purposes", upon which you have asked me to submit rt to your committee. I read the bill it seeks to accomplish three major purposes: (1) The formufor each of seven geographic regions, of plans for the conservation and pment of the natural resources of the region and the systematic effectuaf these plans; (2) the generation and distribution of electric power which ecome available as a result of such projects for navigation, flood control, eclamation as may be included in the plans of the regional agencies and ed by Congress; and (3) coordination within each region of the various al action programs being administered in the region. a heartily in accord with each of these purposes. one interested in agricultural improvement and in having our natural ces best serve all our people could fail to recognize the necessity for both time and long-time planning. The final end to be served, of course, is hich has been so continuously emphasized by this administration-human vation. The Department of Agriculture has a special interest in planning nvolves flood-control and related things, because the land phase of flood 1 is primarily an agricultural problem. plans of the regional agencies for projects in flood control, navigation, clamation of public lands will naturally include, as a necessary incident to rojects, plans for generating and distributing electric power. Probably no nt of American life is more interested in electric power at low rates than culture. Electric energy can contribute enormously to the improvement ning and rural living. In some areas electric refrigeration is the key to a needed diversification. In all areas, for all people, cheap electricity ought one of the blessings of modern technology. urally I favor the regionalization of many activities. I think the Departof Agriculture has helped point the way to a desirable regionalization of al programs, and has striven to coordinate its work in each region so as o supplement related activities of State and local agencies. The work of orest Service, Soil Conservation Service, Resettlement Administration, of Public Roads, and the Biological Survey is regionalized; the programs Agricultural Adjustment Administration and of the Extension Service are alized, though on a different basis. Only recently, to help meet the acute on in the so-called "dust-bowl" area of the southern Great Plains, I ated a regional coordinator with authority to unify the Department's proFortunately, the coordinator has the active support of the State and gricultural agencies in the five States concerned. refore, I have not the slightest reservation to make about the ultimate ves at which this bill is aimed. I should like, however, to submit for the eration of your committee, a few suggestions for revision of the bill. I am g these in the hope of improving its administrative features. In its present the bill contains some administrative provisions which may seriously re with the attainment of the objectives I have summarized above. , I realize that when a department of the Government speaks of duplicad of working at cross-purposes the comments are likely to be considered ely the desire of the bureaucrat to preserve or to enlarge his department's sibilities. But unfortunately it is true that faulty administrative organican easily cause otherwise well-conceived programs to founder. The administrative arrangement and the proper assignment of responsibilities mental necessities to the success of any program. 555 may be summarized as follows: It establishes seven conservation ities which, between them, embrace the continental area of the United The authorities are directed to prepare and to submit annually to the ent plans for integrated regional development in the field of the conserva transfer to the authorities, by Executive Order, the actual administration of dam and appurtenant works heretofore or hereafter constructed by the Un States. It is then provided that if, by later act of the Congress, any projec activity within the comprehensive field to which its over-all planning rela should be assigned to an authority for administration—and such assignn would be expected the authority shall be able to exercise certain design. powers in administering such project or activity. Special provision is also n for the powers which the authority may exercise in administering projects the generation and distribution of electric energy. These, I believe, may be said to be the major provisions of the bill. One administrative feature of this bill that disturbs me greatly is this: should be noted that the seven proposed conservation authorities exhaust tween them the continental area of the United States, and that the scope of projects and activities for which the authorities are required to prepare p includes a number of activities now being administered by the Departmen Agriculture. Since this bill would authorize the assignment to the conserva authorities of the duty of administering any of the programs provided for in t plans, it would permit, and seems even to propose, duplication by the conse tion authorities of a large part of the work of the Department of Agricultur Let me be specific. The Department of Agriculture is now administer programs for the retirement of submarginal land from cultivation, for soil servation, for retardation of run-off and erosion control on watersheds in aid flood control, for administration of national forests and wildlife refuges, other programs dealing with conservation of natural resources. Under this the conservation authorities are expressly directed to include in their plans vision for the conservation and integrated development of water, soil, and for resources, the prevention of siltation of waters, the control and retardation water run-off, and the restoration and improvement of the absorption and filtration capacity of the soil, improved methods and conditions of soil conser tion, utilization, fertilization, and cultivation, the conservation of forests & forestation and reforestation of lands, as well as the prudent husbandry of s mineral, and forest resources and their conservation for recreation, the prot tion of wild game, and other beneficial uses. It will be seen that the conser tion authorities are thus directed to prepare plans covering many of the m important activities of the Department of Agriculture. Therefore, the provis in section 8 (a) of the bill, which looks to entrusting to the authorities for adm istration any project or activity of a type in respect of which an authority authorized to prepare plans, looks, also, to duplicating this work of the Depa ment. It might be possible to discontinue the national farm programs in order substitute for them similar programs under regional control. If this were do each of the regional authorities would have to maintain research and action sta made up of soils men, agronomists, agricultural economists, foresters, wild experts, soil conservationists, and agricultural engineers. S. 2555 contempla assigning such programs to the regional authorities while leaving intact legislation and administrative organization under which the Department is n operating, thereby seemingly making necessary such complete duplication functions and personnel. I earnestly hope your committee will carefully scrutinize the effect which su duplication would have, in particular, upon the national agricultural progra I know that any injury to that program is farthest from the intentions of Sena Norris and others who favor the bill's present provisions. If the Congress signed to the regional agencies the soil conservation and related projects as contemplated in the bill, it would thereby make a national agricultural progr a doubtful undertaking. Soil conservation is achieved by the adoption of 1 proper farm practices. These practices must be in accord not only with 1 farm's physical requirements, but also with the farmer's economic requiremer In fact, farm income is in many respects the controlling factor in the differe between soil exploitation and soil conservation. If soil conservation were ministered by regional authorities, it is inconceivable that all seven plans, un seven separate managements, would fit harmoniously into a national farm p gram that would yield an adequate farm income and that would, at the same tir induce soil conservation practices. It is difficult enough to achieve coordinati within a single department of all elements of a farm program that make co servation farming economically possible. No problem requires more study, taxes more the energies of the officials of the Department of Agriculture, th ment. With all, or only one or two of these under seven managements, to achieve coordination would be faced with enormously increased diffi refore hope you will act favorably on my recommendation that the bill nded to provide that all agricultural programs be administered by the nent of Agriculture, not by the regional authorities. If desired, the bill rovide that the Department shall call upon the authorities for cooperaintegrating agricultural programs with the plans and programs of the ies. en 5 (b) of the bill raises a somewhat different problem, though it is closely to the problem of duplication. This section provides that each authority rvey within its region the programs of the existing Federal departments encies, and "shall endeavor to coordinate and integrate such projects, es, and regional developments by devising and effecting arrangements, cooperation of the field offices and services of the departments and agencies nited States." The authorities may call upon the field offices and services information, and it is made the duty of the Federal departments and "to have their field offices and services take such action as may be necesappropriate fully to cooperate with each authority." This language may preted to mean that final responsibility and authority for bringing about nation" of all Federal programs in the region is to rest with the conservahorities. Now, the essence of a program lies in the way in which it is tered in the field. If the regional authorities can set aside administrative res devised by the Department in Washington, and can give countervailructions to the field offices, then the real responsibility for the adminisof the programs will shift from the Department to the conservation ies. Furthermore, inasmuch as the several conservation authorities may vise different arrangements for such coordination in each region, the ent may well find that the programs which it is charged with administerbeing differently administered in each region under the mandate granted conservation authority. Obviously, successful administratoin can be only if authority is clear and responsibility is single. Where responsidivided and authority duplicated, only confusion and inaction can result. e conservation authorities should be able to devise arrangements for such ion and coordination of Federal programs in the region is, I believe, But the conservation authorities should be instructed to take up such arrangements with the departments concerned and with the President. hould be opportunity for consultation and conference. Final authority coordination should rest either with the department primarily responsible nistration of the program, or with the President. This may be the manhich section 5 (b) would operate in practice, but inasmuch as the language usceptible of a different interpretation, it will create confusion, and may interfere with effective administration if left in its present form. begun by stating my allegiance to national and regional planning, to a ic prosecution of projects for flood control, navigation, reclamation, and ervation of natural resources, to an effective program for generating and ing electric power, and to the objective of coordinating Federal action 3. I have indicated what changes appear to me to be necessary in the rative features of the bill, so far as agriculture is concerned, to prevent tures from interfering with the attainment of the objectives sought. cluding this report, I wish to emphasize that the planning provisions of need to be considered together with those provisions of S. 2700, introSenator Robinson, which would establish and define the functions of the Resources Planning Board. The planning work of the regional conserthorities will deal primarily with flood control, navigation, reclamation, tion of natural resources, and such projects for hydroelectric power as ental thereto. This planning work need not be duplicated by the Naesources Planning Board. The Board can use this planning, and supit with studies in all fields not covered by the regional authorities, instudies in credit facilities, public health, rehabilitation, employment ities, highways, Federal-State relationships, population movements, r physical, social, and economic factors, which must be considered in planning. Such over-all planning, to be adequate and reliable, must be sted in the prestige of particular action programs, and those engaged in |