Water Resources People and Issues
Weber. They were all three very knowledgeable, but I didn't know whether
they would like to work under me. I have a feeling that it really hurt Howard
that he hadn't been selected, but he never complained about it.
When I called Howard, he immediately said that he'd be interested, and I
offered him the position of deputy director because I knew that he could be
depended on and I would be able to get him a promotion.
The Corps had great difficulty getting super grade positions, GS-16, -17, and
-18 at that time because of the overlying military staff. When you looked at the
organization chart, the responsibilities were placed in the generals and colonels.
At that time they even had several colonels as assistants to the chief of Civil
Works, so they had a hard time justifying getting a super-grade position for a
civilian in the Corps. The only way that Joe Tofani got a GS-17 out of it was
that Ken Bousquet got the Appropriations Committee to write the position in
the law in the appropriations act. I understand that logjam has been broken
now, but not without great difficulty.
I was delighted to provide a chance for Howard to break out of that, and so I
think that's one reason he took it, but also he was highly motivated. So he was
the first person with whom I really made a commitment. He couldn't get away
from the Corps right away, but he came over and worked with me Saturdays
and nights and whenever he could find time and helped me to lay out a list of
potential studies to be included in a program of studies for approval by the
commission.
Neither Howard nor I wanted to narrow the focus of the study down into our
particular areas of interest. Under the terms of the National Water Commission
Act, the commission members could not be affiliated with the federal
government in any other way. Chuck
wanted me to follow the same
principle in hiring the staff. He didn't want me to detail people from the
agencies who might retain ties to their agency. He reminded me that the Water
Resources Council had been staffed that way and that it didn't work. Chuck did
not have a very high opinion of the Water Resources Council, based on his
exposure to it as Under Secretary of the Interior.
Although he had delegated all of the powers of the chairman to me except the
power to hold hearings, I felt that I had to consult him with respect to hiring
my principal deputy. I pointed out that I had worked with Howard for many
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