The U.S. Senate on Nov. 8 handed President Bush his first veto override, voting 79-14 to authorize $23.2 billion in new water projects as part of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 (H.R. 1495). Two days earlier, the U.S. House of Representatives had voted 361-54 in support of an override as well.
The vote was hailed by The Fertilizer Institute, which said the WRDA funding is “critical” for a range of inland waterways projects beneficial to the barge transportation of fertilizer products. In addition to funding projects such as the reconstruction of levees around New Orleans, the bill also authorizes programs aimed at environmental restoration, navigation, flood control, hurricane protection, water supply, irrigation, and beach nourishment and recreation.
“The fertilizer industry relies heavily on the inland waterways transportation infrastructure to move our products to farmer’s fields,” said TFI President Ford West. “We are pleased with Congress for its determination to authorize and address the many needs of our industry and others. We especially thank Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), chair and ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, for their efforts to rally the troops and secure passage of this important bill.”
The Senate in October had approved the WRDA conference report by a vote of 81-12, while the House approved the conference report by a vote of 381-40 in August. But President Bush vetoed the WRDA on Nov. 2, claiming it was too costly and complaining that the 900 projects it authorized would overtax the Army Corps of Engineers.
“No one is surprised that this veto was overridden,” said White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore in a statement after the Senate vote on Thursday. “It’s obvious that the bill doesn’t make difficult choices and doesn’t set spending priorities. We don’t believe it’s a responsible way to budget.”
In a Nov. 2 statement urging Congress to override the president’s veto, TFI said the provisions authorized by the WRDA “will ensure that the United States continues to have modern and efficient locks and dams to support the transportation of fertilizer to produce America’s food supply.” Noting that it has been seven years since Congress passed the last WRDA bill, TFI said the new bill will go “a long way” to address “a significant number of needs that have arisen on our nation’s inland waterways.”