President Bush's proposed cut in the Corps of Engineers civil works budget for 2004 has been greeted with bipartisan criticism from Senate Appropriations Committee members, a clear signal that the lawmakers will push funding higher than Bush had recommended.
Bush's civil works request totaled $4.1 billion, a reduction of $524 million, or 11%, from the sum appropriated for 2003. Within the civil works total, Bush is proposing to slash the construction account 23%, to $1.35 billion.