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Show 136 On request of the Committee on Public Works of either the Senate or the House, the Board is required by statute to exam- ine and review the report on any examination or survey made pursuant to law, and report thereon as in other cases.50 Authorization of Projects In authorizing examinations and surveys, Congress has regu- larly provided that the Govenment shall not be deemed to have "entered upon" any project until it shall have been adopted by law.51 Congressional practice has been to authorize the prose- cution of projects in omnibus "Flood Control Acts," as in the case of examinations and surveys.52 General Limitations.-Congress has directed that no proj- ect or estimate for new work shall be made except where authorized by law, and that after a written or formal report thereon, no supplemental or additional report or estimate shall be made unless authorized by law.53 Continuing Authorizations.-The apparent restrictive ef- fect of those limitations is qualified, however, by a number of laws in the nature of continuing authorizations for specified types of work. Each of them deviates from the general legis- lative practice of approving work on a project-by-project basis. Also, a number of them allow varying degrees of discretion in the use of funds, as we shall see. Small Projects.-Thus, Congress in 1948 empowered the Secretary to allot from appropriated funds up to $2,000,000 in any one fiscal year for the construction of undefined "small flood-control projects" not specifically authorized by Congress, and not within the areas intended to be protected by authorized projects.54 It was also required that such "small" projects 60 Id. See also supra, p. 100. 51 Act of June 22,1936, § 6, 49 Stat. 1570,1592. 83 See, e. g., Act of June 30,1948, § 201, 62 Stat. 1171,1175. 88 This requirement was expressly stipulated in the Flood Control Acts of 1936, 1938, and 1939, but omitted from subsequent Flood Control Acts. See, e. g., Act of June 22, 1936, § 6, 49 Stat. 1570, 1592. See also references to the "applicable" pre-1917 provisions discussed supra, p. 132. 84 Act of June 30, 1948, § 205, 62 Stat. 1171, 1182, 33 U. S. C. 701s (Supp. III). |