Show Report From Washington Dixie Uintah Units Get Nod by Rep Laurence J Burton R Utah The showdown this week on the Central Arizona Project bill before the House Interior and billj Insular Affairs Committee resulted in substantial positive I gains for the state of Utah I The 58 million Dixie Project which would develop the waters of the Virgin River in Utah's southwest Was apProved as part art or the bill And so so was the Uintah Unit a 8 43 million r 1 re- re reclamation program that will be of benefit to the people of the Uintah Basin principally the Ute Indian Tribe the there e ALSO INCORPORATED in inthe the bill was a dire directive to the Bureau of Reclamation that all studies pertinent to the compre Ute Indian Unit a million development that will affect a quarter of the land area of the state and more than half of its inhabitants must be completed by 1974 This would be the first fixed target date for the project recognized by Congress and would move ahead by six years the time that construction on it can be gin All of these are important pluses If the bill is finally ap ap- ap approved proved Utah's much needed much needed water development will move ahead in orderly and highly sat fashion and as every Utahn knows the growth of our state is tied dirr to our ability to develop and utilize to the maximum our meager water supply There is no single area of act act- activity more Important to our state THE BILL as finally adopted by the committee did not con tamn tain all that we had hoped for We were shooting for authorization of the full Ute Indian Unit although we all r ed that such a goal as asa asa a practical matter was almost out of reach My motion to ap ap- ap approve prove the entire million project was carried at the sub committee stage But when it came before the full committee on Tuesday it was deleted from the bill pa a Close v vote te Th The opposition led by the Arizona delegation and supported by bythe bythe the members from the Pacific Northwest and and the the non tion states in the East simply had more votes than we had had So in the time honored trad of legislative we fell back to a com com- compromise promise position that had been prepared in advance just in incase incase case it was needed My motion to substitute the Uintah Unit for the Ute Indian development was approved The Uintah Un Unit l lis is actually a segment of the larger ute pr project HAD WE not bargained for forthe forthe the big project it is unlikely that we would have gotten any thing for Utah written into the bill In the language of Capitol Hill we asked for a whole loaf and ended up with a half half- half which is considerably better than nothing at all As Dr Milton R Merrill now vice President of Utah State University and one of my favorite political sciences science sors sors so aptly taught us corn com promise is the grease that makes the wheels of legislation go round Happily we had laid the groundwork so that a mean compromise could be worked worked out IN FAIRNESS to those who opposed the authorization of the Ute Indian Unit it should be pointed out that they had reasons which from their points of view were sub sub- substantial Arizona people ed the utah amendments to toI I their bill because they felt it itI I lessened chances of its passage on the floor The Pacific North west is jealous of its ant supply of water and doesn't like the idea that water should be imported into the Colorado River Basin The bill contains provisions for water import studies Other opposition came from people who just dont don't like reclamation or at least not the reclamation called for in this p particular bill Where do we go from here Well the bill now goes from the Interior Committee to the Rules Committee This latter body I refers bills to the floor for de de- de debate bate and final passage It Is ex petted that the committee will do this sometime in May There will undoubtedly be an attempt to amend the bill on the floor This could affect our Utah pro I believe we can keep them in the bill however No Noone Noone one though can be certain that the bill itself will pass What with all the problems be setting the Congress right now it is risky to make pre pre pre- predictions dictions as to what the House will do 60 days from now AND WHEN the House does approve It it will then have to be referred to a conference committee of the two Houses where differences between the Senate and House versions will willbe be ironed out The Senate ver version sion sian passed last year does docs not contain the Utah items The conference report must then be approved by both Houses though this Is generally a formality Then on to the President for his signature It may seem to you that the lawmaking process is a difficult cult and tortuous one If its it's any consolation it seems that way to me too |