| Chapter : | Introduction |
Presidents since Theodore Roosevelt have argued that the executive branch is better suited than Congress to develop a comprehensive water policy that serves the economic and environmental interests of the nation. Arthur Maass’ seminal work on water projects described well the rivalry between Congress and the Army Corps of Engineers, on the one hand, and presidents and the Department of Interior, on the other, for control over the design and funding of these projects (Maass 1951).
Viewed in retrospect, this particular battle between Congress and President Carter over appropriations for the water projects was years in the making. Jimmy Carter campaigned and won the presidency as an anti-Washington outsider who was especially critical of Congress, rankling many members of Congress. He was swept into office on a promise to shrink rising budget deficits and to balance the budget by the end of his four-year term. He pledged to restore fiscal discipline by reducing wasteful government spending. Balancing the budget was possible, he argued, by reducing wastefulcongressional spending. Carter also campaigned as an advocate for the environment, believing that environmental protection and government fiscal responsibility were complementary goals. Challenging water projects fit nicely into his twin goals: fiscal discipline and environmental protection. By confronting Congress over their funding of water projects, Jimmy Carter offered the first salvo in the war against congressional earmarks4 and pork barrel spending. One of Carter’s advisers characterized it this way: “The fight against [the] water projects was the first ever effort against earmarks—pork, but the word is really earmarks—it was a shot…it was more than a shot, it was a cannon blast across the bow, on pork.”5