Complete Statement of Honorable R.L. Brownlee, Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works), for the Hearing Before the Committee on Environment and Public Works United States Senate on Water Resources Development Programs Within the U.S. Army Cor

摘要

After the War of 1812, both commercial development and national defense in the country required more reliable transportation arteries, Federal assistance, however, was slow in coming and was a 'product of contentious congressional factions' and an Administration that did not want to meddle in the states' affairs, In the 1824 case of Gibbons vs, Ogden, however, the Supreme Court ruled that federal authority covered interstate commerce including riverine navigation, Shortly thereafter, the General Survey Act authorized the President to conduct a survey of nationally important roads and canals from a commercial, military or mail transportation point of view, The President gave that responsibility to the Army Corps of Engineers, About a month later, a second act appropriated $75,000 for improving navigation along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers by removing sandbars, snags and other obstacles, The Corps was also tasked with that work, and so began the Corps of Engineers' continuous involvement in civil works and our Nation's water resources.