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fresumably the Bureau of the Budget will some time make recommenda- tions to the President and the President probably is going to make his recom- mendation to the Congress. Whatever recommendation is made will have suf- ficient novelty and complexity that Congress is likely to have a busy time with it. We can expect at least two or three years of debate and study by Congress before any definite results. Much criticism of the Commission's report has developed, largely boiling down to a charge that as a whole it is slanted toward federal domina- tion of water resources development without adequate consideration of the interests of the states and the people. That subject will be discussed by Mr. Sloan. I will present some of the things about the report that we think are good. First, plans for water development should be basin-wide--projects should be ,planned for coordinated operation to produce optimum use of all basin resources. Second, competition among agencies for business should be restrained by a coordinating organization in the federal government; for example, a Board of review as recommended by the Hoover Commission. Such a Bodrd would assign projects to agencies for investigation and plan- ning, direct the agencies in methods of evaluation of projects, and recommend to Congress the basin-wide plan and the priority of projects. That organiza- tion should be independent of political influence. The third element which appeals to me in the Commission's report, is that Congress should establish standards of evaluation and justification of projects whereby estimates on costs and repayable and nonreimbursable features shall be complete and honest. Methods used by the agencies should be uniform, so that one agency is not free to stretch its wings and fly where another agency can't. Finally, we have the necessity of providing for actual cooperation between the states and the federal government and between local water organi- zations and the government. Unfortunately some states have had a feeling that water development is a federal job and have not built up state agencies to a point "where they can efficiently and usefully cooperate. The states should be encouraged to assume responsibility and to get the views of the people to Oongress before the job is done rather than wait until it is done and then cry about it. The Commission's report covers in very general terms the subject of state cooperation, even to the setting up of an advisory committee of the states to assist the river basin commissions, but does not provide for effective representation of the states in the making of decisions. Whatever evolves from the Commission's work is likely to guide our thinking and affect the economies of the nation for the next generation. For that reason, we should be deeply concerned. Overhauling of our water laws is long overdue. Consistency and equity in handling a project should be approached by the process of general legislation. Details of the report of the Commission are arguable, but I hope that the Colorado River Water Users Association will look at broad aspects more closely than at matters of detail. It is construc- tive and de~irable that federal water policy be as uniform as the diversity of water projects permits. The action of the President in appointing the Commis- sion and getting the subject up for discussion is a healthy thing. Water or- ganizationsrepresenting the people should get behind the movement to see that it does not ,lag and is not blocked by objections to details. I hope this Association may conclude to support the general movement. *********** -33-