It’s “so far so good” for the annual funding of the Central Utah Project, with the House including $52 million for the CUP in the $10.1 billion public works bill it passed Friday. Now it’s up to the Senate – and it is hoped it will follow the I-louse’s lead in recognizing the merit of the project despite veto threats from the White House. Reps. Gunn McKay (Democrat) and Dan Marriott (Republican) fought valiantly for the CUP in the House. Senators Jake Gam and Orrin Hatch, both Republicans, can be expected to follow suit in the Senate. President Carter, whose water policies have not been favorable to the West, has said he would veto the entire public works When a Natural Disaster Strikes Thousands of disaster letters went to a dozen states during the severe winter just past, which qualified as something of a national disaster. The response, reports the company, was massive and grateful. Considering that the ubiquitous credit card is all too o ten a source of budget disaster, it’s refreshing that one major issuer makes a special effort to be of assistance in instances of natural disaster. Whenever the president declares a locality a disaster area because of flood, earthquake or other calamity, Texaco now mass mails “disaster letters” to its affected cardholders. The company offers to suspend bill payment without the usual carryover interest charges. Customers accepting the offer are contacted by a company representative to work out a repayment plan. package unless eight projects in the bill are removed. The eight are on what has become known as Carter’s “hit list.” However, the House vote of 263 to 59 on the public works measure indicates sufficient strength in that chamber for override of a veto. The President had recommended a budget of $37.5 million for the Central Utah Project. The House added $15 million to the Eackage, including money to egin the Upalco and Uintah Units. This was pretty much what members of Utah’s congressional delegation had asked. Both the House and the Senate should be commended for sticking by the Central Utah Project thus far in the face of negative Carter views almost from the start of his administration. The CUP was first approved by Congress back in 1956 and has had the support (if not sufficient financial backing at times) of five administrations prior to the present one. Far from being a “pork barrel” project as some eastemers tag it, the CUP is a badly – needed water development project that will benefit most of the state. Appropriations for it do not constitute a federal handout by any means. More than B0 per cent of the cost is to be paid back to the government by the beneficiaries of the project. Delays caused through small annual appropriations and environmentalist opposition have been costly, coming in a period of substantial inflation. Thus, it’s important to get the CUP moving in a big way and push the work to completion as rapidly as possible. The impressive vote in the House in favor of the water projects amounts to a recognition that water development is vital in the arid West. And, as Reps. McKay and Marriott indicated, it should constitute a strong message to President Carter that he should think twice before any veto.