Congress Overrides Bush Veto of Water Projects Bill
Christopher Doering
Washington - Congress on Thursday overturned President George W. Bush's veto last week of a popular water projects bill, marking the first time lawmakers have mustered enough votes to override the president.
The Senate voted 79-14 to overturn Bush's veto. The House of Representatives had overwhelmingly met the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto when it voted 361-54 on Tuesday.
The $23 billion water projects bill authorizes funding for nearly 900 projects and studies across the United States - including flood control, improving navigation on waterways and restoring the environment.
"There are some moments in time when (the president) needs to come together to work with us. This was one of those times," said Sen. Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Today is "one of those very rare moments in a very, very divided Senate that we came together."
Many Republican and Democratic lawmakers argue the projects are needed because it has been seven years since the last water resources bill was passed.
The administration said the bill was "fiscally irresponsible" because it contained billions of dollars of special projects supported by individual lawmakers. Bush has vetoed a total of five bills during his time in office.
Bush said the measure would only further exacerbate what is already a backlog of projects for the Army Corp of Engineers by adding more projects, many of which were not necessary.
"No one is surprised that the veto was overridden," said White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore. "The president understands that Republicans and Democrats are going to support projects that are in their districts."
The legislation authorizes funding for coastal restoration in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, and improving the Florida Everglades and fisheries in the Great Lakes.
It also proposes new locks to speed up freight traffic on the Mississippi River. Farm and business groups have campaigned for years to expand navigational capacity on the upper Mississippi, where many of the locks and dams date from the Depression era, in order to remain competitive in the global agriculture trade market.
Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick; editing by Mohammad Zargham.
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/110807R.shtml