328 DOCUMENTARY HISTORY OF THE FLORIDA CANAL

 legislation to remedy and cure the situation so far as we could. We have en-
 acted legislation which is out of the ordinary. I grant that But the legisla-
 tion was needed and was necessary at the time and has'been found to have
 cured and to have saved a situation which otherwise would have brought on
 chaos and disaster.
 I admit the Legislative Act of 1985 is unusual I admit that the authority
 there granted is unusual. I admit that the power vested in the President is
 unusual. I concede all that, but that does not answer the question here. That
 is not an argument against the project we propose now. That might have been
 an argument against the bill itself. It is no argument against anything except
 as it might have been used against the bill when It was introduced, considered.
 and became a law in 198.
 There are those who voted against the bill, among them the Senator from
 Michigan [Mr. Vandenberg]. He had a perfect right to vote that way. In
 the Senate there were 66 votes in favor of the legislation and 13 against it.
 The legislation is on the statute books. It may have been a foolish thing to
 do at the time, as some claimed, but it is the law, and acting under that law
 we are now presenting the situation to the Senate.
 The amendment provides for an increase of $20,000,000 in the amount car-
 ried in the War Department appropriation bill. There were submitted to the
 Congress by the War Department and by the Budget Bureau estimates for
 $129,000,000 for river and harbor works. The committee in the House elimi-
 nated $29,000,000 of that amount and provided for only $100,000,000 of the
 recommendation and estimate. The ground for eliminating the $29,000,000 is
 stated in the hearings before the House committee.
 At page 15 of those hearings will be found listed five projects. They are the
 Passamaquoddy tidal power project in Maine; the Atlantic-Gulf ship canal in
 Florida; the Conchas Dam in New Mexico; the Bluestone Reservoir in West
 Virginia; and the Sardis RBeervoir in Missssippi.
 Those were the five projects which called for the $29,000,000 which the House
 eliminated from the bill. The reason for that omission is explained in the
 House hearings at page 23, from which I quote:
 "Mr. BoLTNo. I want this point distinctly understood, that, as a member of
 the Appropriations Committee of Congress, I believe we are supposed to provide
 funds for carrying out activities which have been authorized by Congress, but
 I think it is entirely wrong to suggest to this committee the appropriation of
 funds for activities which have never been authorized by Congres. I think
 that would be entirely beyond the scope of our authority.
 "Mr. PAaws. I think it has been held that any project that actually has been
 begun and on which money has been expended stands on the same level with
 projects authorized by Congress. Of course, that does not mean we have to do
 it, but, so far as the authorization is concerned, it Is there."
 Mr. Parks was chairman of the subcommittee. That was the Issue. It was
 finally decided to omit the five projects from the bill, reducing the total appro-
 priation by $29,000000.
 I propose in my amendment to comply with the Budget recommendations and
 estimates so far as $20,000,000 of the amount is concerned. The amendment
 itself provides that that amount shall apply to projects which have been exam-
 ined by the Army engineers in accordance with acts of Congress. The Passama-
 quoddy item, I understand, was never examined by the Army engineers, so that
 passes out of consideration.
 Mr. HAT. Mr. President-
 The PBzxsIDno Omen (Mr. Pope in the chair). Does the Senator from
 Florida yield to the Senator from Maine?
 Mr. FLtTCrzs. I yield.
 Mr. HAIL. I think the Senator is mistaken in saying the Army engineers
 have not examined the Passamaquoddy project I think they have not made
 a report on the project.
 So far as I am concerned-and I think the same applies to my colleague,
 the junior Senator from Maine [Mr. White] I am in favor of the Passama-
quoddy project, but I do not feel it has a place in the pending bill. I believe
the Passamaquoddy project is a relief project, and that it can and should
be taken care of out of relief funds such as have been provided by Congress.
I am entirely satisfied to have that Item left out of the bill, as the Senator has
left it out of his amendment.
 Mr. FLETrcaz I understood the Senators from Maine were entirely agree-
able to leaving that item out of the pending bill. No matter whether it is
favored or not, it was certainly represented before the committee that the