It is the sense of Congress that the surveys of the Mississippi River and its tributaries, authorized pursuant to the Act of January 21, 1927 [ch. 47, 44 Stat. 1010], and House Document Numbered 308, Sixty-ninth Congress, first session, be prosecuted as speedily as practicable, and the Secretary of the Army, through the Corps of Engineers, United States Army, is directed to prepare and submit to Congress at the earliest practicable date projects for flood control on all tributary streams of the Mississippi River system subject to destructive floods which projects shall include: The Red River and tributaries, the Yazoo River and tributaries, the White River and tributaries, the Saint Francis River and tributaries, the Arkansas River and tributaries, the Ohio River and tributaries, the Missouri River and tributaries, and the Illinois River and tributaries; and the reports thereon, in addition to the surveys provided by said House Document 308, Sixty-ninth Congress, first session, shall include the effect on the subject of further flood control of the lower Mississippi River to be attained through the control of the flood waters in the drainage basins of the tributaries by the establishment of a reservoir system; the benefits that will accrue to navigation and agriculture from the prevention of erosion and siltage entering the stream; a determination of the capacity of the soils of the district to receive and hold waters from such reservoirs; the prospective income from the disposal of reservoired waters; the extent to which reservoired waters may be made available for public and private uses; and inquiry as to the return flow of waters placed in the soils from reservoirs, and as to their stabilizing effect on stream flow as a means of preventing erosion, siltage, and improving navigation: Provided, That before transmitting such reports to Congress the same shall be presented to the Mississippi River Commission, and its conclusions and recommendations thereon shall be transmitted to Congress by the Secretary of the Army with his report.
The sum of $5,000,000 is authorized to be used out of the appropriation authorized in section 702a of this title, in addition to amounts authorized in the River and Harbor Act of January 21, 1927 [ch. 47, 44 Stat. 1010], to be expended under the direction of the Secretary of the Army and the supervision of the Chief of Engineers for the preparation of the flood-control projects authorized to be submitted to Congress under this section: Provided further, That the flood surveys herein provided for shall be made simultaneously with the flood-control work on the Mississippi River provided for in sections 702a, 702b to 702d, 702e to 702g, 702h, 702i, 702j, 702k, 702l, 702m, and 704 of this title: And provided further, That the President shall proceed to ascertain through the Secretary of Agriculture and such other agencies as he may deem proper, the extent to and manner in which the floods in the Mississippi Valley may be controlled by proper forestry practice.