I am an engineer, a geotechnical engineer, to be exact. I have worked on (and designed) levees that are built upon poor existing soil conditions here in the bay area (that are also subject to strong ground motions via earthquakes). I have recently listened to an esteemed colleague discuss the reasons, from an engineering perspective, the levees in New Orleans failed. I have worked with the Army Corps of Engineers (as a private consultant) and I have little or no understanding of how this Senate bill effects me, my work, my previous work, or how I or the ACE or anyone else will design and analyze levees in the future. To be sure, outside reviews are always helpful, although costly, and should be conducted by well-educated and well-experienced engineers. No bureaucrats please. In all honesty, they do not understand what we do, what the issues are, or what possible solutions exist. And, by the way, anything the Corps does costs "$40 million or more."