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<br />and with representatives of the Rio Grande <br />Water Conservation District for a meeting with <br />the congressional delegation in hopes that we <br />can get the Closed Basin report released by <br />the Bureau of the Budget. '!'he report on the <br />Closed Basin Project has been held up by the <br />Bureau of the Budget for some time now. <br /> <br />Under the project legislation which the <br />Board approved about a year ago and which has <br />since been introduced by members of our con- <br />gressional delegation, we have proposed that <br />the first 60,000 acre-feet of-water would be <br />purely a federal expense. This is based upon <br />the fact that the united States in addition to <br />giving away the water of the Colorado River <br />also gave water from the Rio Grande aiver to <br />the Republic of Mexico for reasons expressed in <br />the treaty as being international comity. I <br />don't know whether that is spelled 'comedy' or <br />'comity'. In any event I do not know what it <br />means. We have suggested th~t since the United <br />States so generously gave water which originates <br />in the southwest to the Republic of Mexico, all <br />of the united States should pay for it. This is <br />the theory upon which the bill was introduced. <br />It provides that the first 60,000 feet, which <br />is the amount given to the Republic of Mexico, <br />be furnished at federal expense. <br /> <br />'!'he Bureau of the Budget has taken a <br />peculiar attitude with reference to the bill. <br />As an excuse for not delivering the report to <br />Congress, the Bureau of the Budget states that <br />there is no agreement among Texas, New Mexico <br />and Colorado concerning the bill. It is none <br />of the Bureau's business whether or not the <br />states have agreed on it or not. That is a <br />matter for Congress to decide. It is a most <br />exasperating thing because we can do nothing <br />about the bill as long as it is in the Bureau <br />of the Budget. It has to get to Congress if <br />any agreement on the legislation is to be <br />reached. '!'his is really a ruse not to let it <br />out of the Bureau of the Budget at all. Anyway, <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br />