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[House Document 110-71]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                     

110th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 110-71

 
                       VETO MESSAGE ON H.R. 1495

                               __________

                                MESSAGE

                                  from

                     THEPRESIDENTOFTHEUNITEDSTATES

                              transmitting

NOTIFICATION OF THE VETO OF H.R. 1495, THE WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT 
                              ACT OF 2007

              November 5, 2007.--And ordered to be printed
To the House of Representatives:
    I am returning herewith without my approval H.R. 1495, the 
``Water Resources Development Act of 2007.''
    This bill lacks fiscal discipline. I fully support funding 
for water resources projects that will yield high economic and 
environmental returns to the Nation and each year my budget has 
proposed reasonable and responsible funding, including $4.9 
billion for 2008, to support the Army Corps of Engineers' 
(Corps) main missions. However, this authorization bill makes 
promises to local communities that the Congress does not have a 
track record of keeping. The House of Representatives took a 
$15 billion bill into negotiations with a $14 billion bill from 
the Senate and instead of splitting the difference, emerged 
with a Washington compromise that costs over $23 billion. This 
is not fiscally responsible, particularly when local 
communities have been waiting for funding for projects already 
in the pipeline. The bill's excessive authorization for over 
900 projects and programs exacerbates the massive backlog of 
ongoing Corps construction projects, which will require an 
additional $38 billion in future appropriations to complete.
    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. My Administration has repeatedly urged 
the Congress to authorize only those projects and programs that 
provide a high return on investment and are within the three 
main missions of the Corps' civil works program: facilitating 
commercial navigation, reducing the risk of damage from floods 
and storms, and restoring aquatic ecosystems. This bill does 
not achieve that goal. This bill promises hundreds of earmarks 
and hinders the Corps' ability to fulfill the Nation's critical 
water resources needs--including hurricane protection for 
greater New Orleans, flood damage reduction for Sacramento, and 
restoration of the Everglades--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.
    I urge the Congress to send me a fiscally responsible bill 
that sets priorities. Americans sent us to Washington to 
achieve results and be good stewards of their hard-earned 
taxpayer dollars. This bill violates that fundamental 
commitment. For the reasons outlined above, I must veto H.R. 
1495.

                                                    George W. Bush.
    The White House, November 2, 2007.

                                  
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