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Show Rep. Granger To Introduce Echo Park Legislation A bill to authorize construction construc-tion of Echo Park dam will be introduced by Utah, Colorado and Wyoming legislators as soon as possible in the current session. ses-sion. Rep. Walter K. Granger said last week. "We don't know exactly when we can present a plan, as we will need approval by the Buj reau of the Budget," the representative repre-sentative said. While Congress could act on its own. he ex plained, budget bureau approval approv-al has become almost an essential essen-tial for reclamation projects." Bureau of Reclamation officials of-ficials are backing Echo Park and Secy, of the Interior Oscar A. Chapman remains in support sup-port in the absence of equally favorable sites. Stumbling block among the administrative agencies agen-cies which might force rejection by the budget bureau, however, is the opposition of the Army Engineers. , . . Lt. Gen. Lewis Pick, chief of the engineers, has submitted an adverse report alleging that the project is economically unfeasible un-feasible because of "unrealistic" estimates of prospective irrigation irriga-tion revenues. Even if an authorization bill could get past a Congress made economy-conscious by impending elections, no appropriation for actual construction could be passed until next year. Elsewhere on the reclamation scene. Granger said he was "much disappointed" in the inclusion in-clusion of only 250,000 planning funds for Weber Basin in the current budget. There is little possibility, he added, that Congress Con-gress will boost this amount to make a start on construction this year. Illustrating the lawmakers' attitude on economy, the Utahn said 'there's not a chance in the world that the President's request re-quest for extra taxes will be granted." A member of the powerful House Ways and Means Commit tee, which originates revenue bills, Granger forecast that tne group will spend this session eliminating loopholes and inequities in-equities in the present tax laws, making no effort to find new tax sources. |
