Washington, D.C. - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced today that it will be delaying 150 water projects pending further economic study. Only time will tell whether this is just damage control or a real effort to cut wasteful spending.
The question is, will this be just another rubber stamp of old projects or are they serious about stamping out waste? Taxpayers remain cautiously optimistic that this could be the beginning of a new era of fiscal responsibility for the Corps of Engineers. However, it is only a first step and Congress needs to proceed with pending legislation to reform this embattled agency.
To convince the public and taxpayers that this is a serious effort to cut the $52 billion backlog and eliminate wasteful projects, the Corps needs to release the list of 150 projects immediately rather than waiting for their congressional supporters to pick and choose what should be on the list. Immediate and full disclosure of projects is needed to ensure taxpayers that this is not just another attempt to sanitize the agency’s wastefulness.
The announcement of these project delays comes on the heels of the resignation of Mike Parker, who ran the agency until he publicly criticized the Administration on its Corps of Engineers budget request. The administration has proposed a cut from $4.5 billion to $4 billion in overall spending for the Army Corps of Engineers.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has a $4 billion civil works program with three primary missions: navigation, flood damage reduction, and environmental protection. In recent years, the agency, with support from Congress, has sought to expand its mission into water supply, wastewater treatment and managing construction of public schools, often competing directly with the private sector for these jobs.
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