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<br />Statement by Senator Anderson of New Mexico on Status of Colorado <br />River Storage Project, With Respect to the Eighth Annual Report <br />" <br />The 84th Congress, in 1956, enacted a most constructive and <br />forward-looking law known as the Colorado River Storage Project <br />Act. This is Public Law 485, 84th Congress, and is derived from <br />S. 500 of that Congress, a measure which I had the honor to sponsor. <br />In reporting the bill on behalf of the Interior Committee to the <br />Senate on March 30, 1955, I pointed out- <br />S. 500, as amended, has four principal purposes. First, it would authorize a <br />series of holdover storage reservoirs, with hydropower plants and incidental works. <br />Second, it would authorize a number of consumptive ,use irrigation projects. <br />Third, it would recognize, with a view to laying a foundation for eventual further <br />action by the Congress, certain units and projects in several stages of planning, but <br />plans for which are not sufficiently advanced to warrant final and unconditional <br />authorization. Finally, thw bill recognizes that the works authorized constitute <br />only an initial phase of a comprehensive development of the water resources <br />apportioned to the upper baSin and that the specific authorizations in this bill are <br />not intended to limit or preclude the consideration and authorization by Congress <br />of other projects for the use of waters apportioned under the compacts as <br />additional needs are indicated. <br />Section 6 of the law requires the Secretary of the Interior to report <br />to the Congress each year "upon the status of the revenues from, and <br />the cost of, constructing, operating, and maintaining" the project and <br />"to reflect accurately the Federal investment allocated at that time <br />to power, to irrigation, and to other purposes, the progress of return <br />and payment thereon, and the estimated rate of progress year by <br />year, in accomplishing repa,yment." <br />Of such widespread interest and value are these reports that each <br />year since 1957 the Secretary's report for the preceding year has been <br />published by the Senate as a Senate document. The eighth annual <br />report was transmitted:to the Interior Committee on December 30, <br />and it sets forth both the progress and the problems in achieving the <br />purposes of the enabling legislation. <br />I commend this report to the attention of the Members of Congress. <br />VII <br /> <br />