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In Washington, TVA's father, Senator George W. Norris, started the ball rolling for a new power project. Senator Norris suggested appropriating "several billion dollars" to set up regional power authorities from coast to coast, build new dams and a nationwide network of power links. Meanwhile, Franklin Roosevelt, who also had something to do with starting TVA, contented himself with asking Congress for $40,000,000 to step up power production in the Tennessee Valley. But these were long-term plans. With less than six weeks' reserve backed up behind their dams, Southern utilitymen figured that it would take nothing short of a series of torrential downpours to rebuild their power backlog.