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Show 536 President had previously been authorized to construct "any project or works which may be provided for in a treaty entered into with Mexico." 236 In consenting to ratification of the 1944 treaty, the Senate prescribed that no officer or employee of the United States may commit the United States to the construc- tion of any works other than those specifically provided for in the treaty without the prior approval of Congress.287 Pattern of Authorization.-The foregoing provisions range from individualized legislative authorization of projects to a blanket grant of authority to an agency head. The varia- tions seem generally related to the scope of possible project se- lection under the program involved. Thus, as a result of nation-wide jurisdiction over navigation and flood-control projects, the scope of possible activity is broadest in the case of the Army Engineers. For they plan and construct such projects on a nation-wide basis. In turn, stat- utes make individualized legislative approval prerequisite as a general rule. On the other hand, projects of the Bureau of Reclamation are by nature limited to arid and semiarid areas and under Reclamation Law to the West. Under a prescribed statutory standard, projects may be authorized after submission of administrative findings to the President and to Congress. But selection is limited by the fact that, if an "affected" state or the Secretary of the Army objects, the project may be authorized only by act of Congress. Another difference may be noted. No pay-out formula is prescribed for Army Engineer projects. But Congress has in certain types of cases required "local contributions" toward flood-control projects. Like contributions have been re- quired as to some individual navigation projects.238 In the case of Reclamation projects, on the other hand, the statutory pay-out standard tends to limit further the range of project selection. 230 Act of August 19, 1935, § 2, 49 Stat 660, see 22 U. S. O. 277a. 287 Sen. Res. of April 18,1945, 59 Stat. 1263. 438 See supra, n. 175, p. 106. |