Bush Urged to Sign Water Resources Development Act

President Bush received a letter this afternoon urging him to sign into law the 2007 Water Resources Development Act, according to PRNewswire. The WRDA was presented to Bush on October 23, after passing both the House and the Senate earlier this year by strong majorities in both chambers.

The 2007 Water Resources Development Act will allow the Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with studies and projects to increase flood control measures and improve waterways, including important ecosystem restoration projects. The last WRDA was passed in 2000, and many projects have been stalled while awaiting the passage of the latest WRDA.

Some of the WRDA projects involve critical improvements in the New Orleans' levee and pumps systems that were damaged during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The WRDA is written as such to authorize the Secretary of the Army to restore the Louisiana Coastal Area to bring back the wetlands that can be an effective buffer against hurricanes.

The WRDA will focus on other projects throughout the Gulf of Mexico coastal area, as well as working to restore the Florida Everglades. The WRDA will also develop plans to reduce flood and storm damage potential in other states such as Missouri, Illinois, Alaska, California, and Ohio.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer were signatories on the letter to President Bush. Other co-signers were House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn and Rahm Emanuel, the Chairman of the Democratic Caucus. James Oberstar (D-MN), the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman also signed the letter to Bush urging him to sign the WRDA into law, rather than veto as he has threatened to do.

The letter appeals to the President in a way that maybe he cannot argue with, a need to protect the "crucial oil and gas infrastructure." The letter calls on Bush to remember a "pledge to rebuild New Orleans 'even better and stronger than before the storm.'" The letter concludes by pointing out the Act's overwhelming support in both the House and the Senate, perhaps as a way of saying that both chambers can override a veto, if necessary. It would be the first time a Bush veto has been overturned, if it came down to that.

The WRDA 2007 passed the House 381 to 40, and the Senate by 81 to 12.

Bush has issued statements, echoed in the conservation press, that the WRDA 2007 is wasteful spending, and another example of pork barrel politics. However, the WRDA has been modified since the President's statements in April.

But as the main criticism of the WRDA is that it is a boon to those with beach front property, one would think that Bush would be all for helping out wealthy landowners along the Gulf source, in addition to oil and gas companies. Conservative critics must not see the value of seashore ecosystems, and how they can not only provide recreational opportunities for Americans, but also provide habitat for wildlife.

Sources: The Office of the Speaker of the House, PRNewswire, The White House, The Heritage Foundation