WSP01790

• File Number: 8027
• Description: Section D General Correspondence-Federal Agencies
• State: CO
• Basin: Statewide
• Date: 6/18/1954
• Author: W A Dexheimer
• Title: Statements of Commissioner of Reclamation W A Dexheimer Before Various Public Gatherings - June 1954 through December 1955
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

I

,

...l!

.
$4,000,000 for

general

.

Or'l,,)'"lqf'
U L. ,-,i__I'
"maintenance, $3,470,000 for general investigations, and

administrative expenses. Three million, three hundred thousand dollars of con-'

struction funds are also ,being, used for investigations in the ~Ussouri River Basin.

It is worthy of note that less than half of this fiscal year's appropriation

comes from the general fund of the Treasury, which is supported by the taxpayers.
The Reclamation Fund is financing 51 percent of this year's activities, including

all general administrative expenses, most general investigations and operation and

maintenance, and a substantial part of neVi construction. Out of a total of

$163,800,000 appropriated, $83,500,000 comes from the Reclamation Fund.

Total income to the Reclamation Fund this year is estimated to be over

$93,000,000, of which $58,000,000 will be from power and water revenue, and

$35,000,000 will be accretions stemming from public lands and proceeds from the

Oil Leasing Act. Bear in mind, too, that practically all of the funds appropri-

ated for Bureau of Reclamation construction from the general fund are reimbursable.

This is in sharp contrast to the nonreimbursability of hundreds of millions

of interest-free dollars which are appropriated annually by the Federal Government

for other civil works.

I hope we can get these facts before those critics who imply that Reclamation

is a burden on the taxpayer. I hope, too, that the several groups which are con-

sidering a national water policy will give careful consideration to these dif-

ferences. Conflicting policy and laws governing expenditure and reimbursability
of Federal civil works are unfair, confusing and discriminatory.

At the beginning of the current fiscal year the Bureau had in force contracts

totaling over $425,000,000, with an unearned balance of about $100,000,000. Dur-

ing the first quarter of this fiscal year we let approximately 90 new contracts
with a face value of more than $11,000,000. During the last three quarters of the

year we expect to let another $40,000,000 worth of contracts.

3