United States Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., on Thursday sent a letter to the Comptroller General of the United States, David M. Walker, requesting an investigation by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on a recent news report that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers knowingly installed defective flood-control pumps in Louisiana drainage canals.

“According to press accounts based on internal memoranda and eye witness testimony, the Army Corps of Engineers installed defective flood control pumps around the levee system that protects the New Orleans Metropolitan region,” Sen. Landrieu wrote. “Reportedly, despite awareness within the Army Corps of Engineers about the mechanical problems of the pumps provided by Moving Water Industries (MWI), installation continued.”

In addition to calling for an investigation into whether the Corps installed pumps they knew to be defective, Sen. Landrieu requested that the GAO determine if the pump design and installation contracts were given for any reason other than merit.

“The investigation should examine the contract arrangements with the company in question and should determine whether or not any improprieties exist in the award or fulfillment of these contracts,” Sen. Landrieu wrote.

Sen. Landrieu also requested that the investigation be completed within 60 days.

Earlier Thursday, Sen. Landrieu sought a full explanation on the issue from Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works John Woodley and the Corps Chief of Engineers Lt. Gen. Carl Strock.  At a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Energy and Water Subcommittee hearing, Sen. Landrieu expressed her concern regarding the Corps’ budget, its projects in areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the Crops’ overall management.

On another matter, Landrieu, on Thursday, made the following statement after voting for resolutions she said supports continued troop funding and would set clear benchmarks for the war in Iraq.

Sen. Landrieu said:

“Today, I voted to chart a new course for our strategy in Iraq. I believe that a full and open debate of this issue is vital for our country, and critical for our democracy. The President needs to provide the American people with measurable benchmarks of victory.  This is the only way that the public can have the assurance that we are making progress. Unfortunately, the Administration has not provided such benchmarks. That failure has been a major cause of the policy errors and mismanagement that we have seen far too often in this very difficult situation.

“To effectively fight the global war on terror, to protect the lives of our men and women in uniform, and to enhance our nation’s security at home and abroad, we must set clear goals and benchmarks for success in Iraq, take steps to ensure that they are timely met and reassess our strategy if they are not. This is our obligation to our troops and to the American people.

“It is why I support sending a clear, constructive message to the Administration and to the Iraqi government. To do any less would be to shirk my duty as a United States Senator.

“I will continue to support full funding for our troops. I will continue to support our military personnel as they make military decisions in the field that they deem most appropriate to achieve our objectives. And I will continue to oppose any arbitrary timetables that could jeopardize the safety of our troops or diminish our nation’s fight against terrorism.”

In the Senate, yesterday, Republicans defeated the Democratic legislation requiring a troop withdrawal to begin within 120 days. That measure set no fixed deadline for completion of the redeployment, but set a goal of March 31, 2008. The vote fell way short, 50-48 against the measure, 12 short of the 60 needed for passage.