John McCain: McCain Supports Presidential Veto Of WRDA 2007

November 08, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, DC –U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) today submitted the following statement for the Congressional Record regarding the Veto Message on H.R. 1495, the Water Resources Development Act of 2007:

“Mr. President, I would like to express my strong support for the President’s veto of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 and I urge my colleagues to oppose the attempt to override this veto. This legislation is fundamentally flawed, authorizing nearly one thousand new projects without any method for prioritizing the needs of our national water infrastructure.

“Mr. President, when the House and Senate went to Conference on WRDA, the Senate bill totaled $14 billion and the House bill $15 billion. Somehow this resulted in a final Conference Report totaling $23 billion and 900 new projects -- 300 more than either of the House- or Senate-passed bills had included. These items are just further additions to the growing backlog at the Corps of Engineers.

“Buried among these projects are valid infrastructure needs including helping to protect the Gulf Coast against future hurricanes. However, as stated in the November 5, 2007, Washington Post editorial entitled Fiscal Plunge: A vetoed $23 billion water bill is not worth saving, “The bill would indeed authorize about $1.9 billion for coastal ecosystem restoration and protection in Louisiana to help the state rebuild its defenses against hurricanes. The president supports that; he just thinks that Congress could have authorized it without also larding on billions of dollars' worth of economically and environmentally questionable projects.” I ask unanimous consent that the editorial be printed in the Record immediately following my remarks.

“I know that many are arguing that we have to pass legislation in order to begin or complete important water infrastructure projects throughout the United States. However, I believe that we should be passing a bill that will authorize legitimate, needed projects without sacrificing fiscal responsibility.

“In August, the Senate passed the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 with the supposed intention of bringing integrity to the system of earmarking appropriation and authorizations bills. Unfortunately, within 10 days of its enactment, the Senate approved the Conference Report for WRDA that is just more of the same earmarks and then some. Prior to Congressional consideration of the Conference Report, the Director of OMB and Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works sent a letter to Congress stating that the excessive price and number of projects in this legislation would result in a Presidential veto. I am pleased that the President followed through on that statement and rightfully vetoed this Water Resources bill full of pork projects and un-checked Government spending.

“When issuing his veto of the Water Resources Development Act on November 2, 2007, the President stated, “This bill does not set priorities. The authorization and funding of Federal water resources projects should be focused on those projects with the greatest merit that are also a Federal responsibility…This bill promises hundreds of earmarks and hinders the Corps' ability to fulfill the Nation's critical water resources needs…while diverting resources from the significant investments needed to maintain existing Federal water infrastructure. American taxpayers should not be asked to support a pork-barrel system of Federal authorization and funding where a project's merit is an afterthought.”

“During Senate consideration of this bill, Senator Feingold offered an amendment that I was pleased to cosponsor that would have established a system to give clarity to the process used for funding Corps projects. Of course, that amendment was not adopted because this Congress values pet projects over national priorities. I believe that this Congress has a duty to protect taxpayers’ dollars and ensure that they are used for the most cost effective and critically needed projects. This bill fails to provide for any clarity or prioritization in the funding process and would result in further confusion and irresponsibility in how Corps projects are funded.

“I urge my colleagues to oppose the attempt to override the President’s veto of the Water Resources and Development Act of 2007.”

Source: John McCain campaign

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