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Show 405 hereafter] adopted or authorized upon or for the im- provement of any of the rivers or harbors of the United States [or with legislative action upon the reports here- tofore or hereafter presented.] In the Senate, the amendment establishing the Commission was adopted by voice vote without debate.68 An attempt to delete it was defeated in the House by vote of 207-142.69 But the efforts creating the Waterways Commission were in vain. For its members were never appointed, largely because of our participation in World War I.70 Moreover, the provision creating it was expressly repealed by the 1920 Federal Water Power Act,71 after the House refused to accept a Senate amend- ment which would have preserved the Waterways Commission but changed its authorized membership.72 M55 Cong. Rec. 5508 (1917). "55 Cong. Rec. 5732. The Conference Committee had modified the pro- vision slightly (Sen. Amend. No. 41). See H. Rep. No. 116, 65th Cong., 1st sess., p. 4 (1917). For the debate in the Senate, see 55 Cong. Rec. 5701-5705, and in the House, see id. pp. 5723-5732. One opponent in the House re- marked that the conferees had "provided for the creation of a commission to study territorial conditions in every particular so far as water is con- cerned except prohibition." He expressed surprise that this had not been included. Id. p. 5726. TO See 59 Cong. Reo. 1173-1176, 7773 (1920). 71 Act of June 10,1920, § 29, 41 Stat. 1063,1077. n Sen. Amend. No. 59, rather than repealing § 18 of the 1917 Act, would have amended it to omit its third and fourth paragraphs and to change the membership of the Commission to the Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, Director of Geological Survey, Forester and Chief of the Forest Service, Director and Chief Engineer of the Corps of Engineers. 59 Cong. Rec. 1535; see also id. pp. 1173-1176 and 7770-7773. This amendment had been adopted in lieu of one which would have transferred all the powers and duties of the Commission to the new Federal Power Commission. See 59 Cong. Rec. 1173. Rejecting the Senate amendment, the Conference Committee said, "In view of the fact that many of the duties imposed upon this Waterways Commis- sion will be assigned to the Water Power Commission under the pending bill and other duties have already been assigned to other governmental agencies under the transportation act of 1920, the House conferees opposed this amendment. The Senate conferees receded, and the amendment has been eliminated." H. Rep. No. 910, 66th Cong., 2d sess., pp. 13-14 (1920). |