By Danielle Shrager
November 12, 2007

Congress voted to override President Bush’s November 2 veto of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 (WRDA), the first veto override during President Bush’s presidency. WRDA authorizes $23.2 billion, $11.2 billion over the next four years and an additional $12 billion in the following 10 years, to hundreds of Army Corps of Engineer projects, including water system restoration and flood control.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors supported the reauthorization of WRDA and actively encouraged Congress to override Bush’s veto. Many communities are interested in WRDA reauthorization since many local water infrastructure projects involving waterways, flood control, dams, and levees are included in the bill.

Out of the five vetoes since his presidency, this is the first Bush override over his 7 years in office. The other four vetoes include the children’s health program, guidelines for troop withdrawal in Iraq, and two on stem cell research. None of the vetoes were made during the first five years of his presidency.

Bush vetoed WRDA which he said was excessive. Nevertheless, the override was overwhelmingly supported by Congress. On November 8, the Senate voted 79-14 to override Bush’s veto, including 34 Republicans in support of the override, and the House of Representatives voted 361-45 on November 7.

Some notable initiatives included in the bill are levee protection projects in New Orleans and restoration of the Florida Everglades. Although these projects have been authorized, funding must still be appropriated.

Senator Barbara Boxer (CA), Chairwoman of the Committee on Environment and Public Works, criticized Bush’s decision to veto the bill. Boxer said, “President Bush’s veto of the Water Resources Development Act breaks his commitment to the people of Louisiana to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina; breaks his commitment to America’s communities to make them economically strong and protect them from flooding; breaks his commitment to make America’s infrastructure a priority; and breaks his commitment to restore our environment, including the Everglades”.