WASHINGTON -- Sen. David Vitter, R-La., introduced a bill Wednesday he says will pave the way for overhaul of the much-maligned Army Corps of Engineers. It includes a requirement that the Corps begin a pilot program to designate state and local governments to manage significant projects, with a major expansion occurring if the change results in more efficiency, as...
WASHINGTON -- Sen. David Vitter, R-La., introduced a bill Wednesday he says will pave the way for overhaul of the much-maligned Army Corps of Engineers.
Sen. David Vitter, R-La., filed legislation Wednesday to overhaul how the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operates.It includes a requirement that the Corps begin a pilot program to designate state and local governments to manage significant projects, with a major expansion occurring if the change results in more efficiency, as Vitter expects will happen.
The bill, which Vitter has been working on since last year, drew the support of Florida's Democratic senator, Bill Nelson. He agreed to give the bill bipartisan backing after Vitter agreed to add navigation projects to those covered by the overhaul effort.
"Backlogs and red tape have plagued the Corps, especially since Hurricanes Katina and Rita, and I want to start implementing necessary reforms that will cut through the red tape and speed up critical flood control and navigation projects," Vitter said. "If we'd start handling Corps projects more like federal highway projects, letting states take the lead, it would allow them to complete the projects more quickly and cheaply."
In Louisiana, Vitter said, "flood protection isn't something we can allow to be backlogged for years on end."
Vitter has long been a critic of the Corps, particularly after Hurricane Katrina when failed levees led to massive flooding in and around New Orleans.
Under the Vitter-Nelson bill:
- The Corps would be required to delegate project management for many projects to state and local government partners, much as federal transportation officials do with major highway and mass transit projects. Vitter envisions the Corps starting with a pilot project in which some significant projects would be managed by state and local governments with later expansion to more and more projects.
- The Corps would still play a major oversight view, even when it isn't the project manager.
- The Corps would also be required to maintain federal design and construction standards.
- Most design and construction work would continue to be done by private firms, just as it is now.