The Army of Corps of Engineers, while technically a part of the Dept of Defense is listed separately in the federal budget. They do really cool work for both military and civilian construction projects and waterways in all 50 states and around the world.
Their work is critically important, but it is also subject to fraud and pork barrel spending for pet projects. We need to make sure they are fully funded for legitimate works and needs, but at the same time I support past efforts by Senators McCain and Feingold for there to be an independent review board for all CoE projects before they get approved, because some of the projects have either been questionable as to the need, or wound up being detrimental to the surrounding areas in which they reside.
One thing that has always bugged me goes back to my days of growing up on Long Island. There are all these super rich people who have homes on the beach that are built on stilts. Well when a hurricane came through, guess what, there was major beach erosion, so the CoE was brought in at taxpayer cost to rebuild the beaches so the rich people could get back to their houses. I’m sorry, but things like that, where someone intentionally builds someplace that could be subject to erosion like that, and they have the money to afford it, should be reimbursing the CoE for any costs related to helping them out.
Perry Waag 