[StBernard] Urgent Action Needed for Corps Reform

[Westley Annis]

July 17, 2006

Urgent Action Needed for Corps Reform!

Dear Member:

Even before the New Orleans tragedy, a decade of studies have revealed flaws
in the Corps of Engineers' planning. The need for Corps Reform was merely
reinforced by the New Orleans levee failures where independent experts and
even the Corps itself concluded that the levees failed due to poor Corps
design and flawed construction.


Corps Reform is essential, but a new Water Resources bill is currently being
held up in Congress because of disagreements. Senators John McCain and Russ
Feingold have introduced two important amendments. One would establish
independent expert review of corps projects and one would require
prioritizing Corps projects. These two amendments would help assure that the
right projects are chosen and that those "right" projects are done right.


But Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla) has proposed an amendment that would
change little of the politicized system that has failed the New Orleans and
the country. The Inhofe/Bond amendment prohibits review of the Corps'
project planning. The Inhofe/Bond amendment would also prohibit ranking
Corps projects and is not intended to provide transparency to the public.


1. Please take a moment to call Senator David Vitter at 202-224-4623 and
Senator Mary Landrieu at 202-224-5824 today and then urge five friends to
make the phone calls as well.

2. After identifying yourself as a constituent, tell the aide you would like
to leave a brief message for the Senator that you support the
McCain/Feingold amendments. If the aide asks why, say because the
McCain/Feingold amendments would guarantee sound Corps projects and that the
Inhofe/Bond amendment maintains the unacceptable status quo. 



Once an independent review provision is signed into law, it will be
extremely difficult to get Congress to re-open the issue. It will be many
years (and possibly another engineering disaster) before Congress will open
the book on this again.

 

Thank you for your help. The voting on the amendments will happen this week,
so please make your calls today!

Sandy Rosenthal 
Founder, Levees.Org
www.levees.org
<http://www.democracyinaction.com/dia/track.jsp?key=80434358&url_num=1&url=h
ttp://www.levees.org/> 

Further reading on the need for Corps Reform:
Par for the Corps
<http://www.democracyinaction.com/dia/track.jsp?key=80434358&url_num=2&url=h
ttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/13/AR20060513000
37.html> 
Washington Post 5-14-06
Michael Grunwald