[House Document 119-119]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



119th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 119-119





 
                        VETO MESSAGE OF H.R. 131

                               __________


                                MESSAGE

                                  from

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              transmitting

                        VETO MESSAGE OF H.R. 131








               [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]








                January 2, 2026.--Ordered to be printed
 
                                -------
                                 
                   U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
 
69-011                     WASHINGTON : 2026 












































To the House of Representatives:
    I am returning herewith without my approval H.R. 131, the 
Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act.
    The Arkansas Valley Conduit (AVC) is a water pipeline 
currently being built to provide municipal and industrial water 
to communities in southeastern Colorado. It was originally 
authorized as part of the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project in a bill 
signed by President Kennedy in 1962. For decades it was 
unbuilt, largely because the AVC was economically unviable. 
Under the original plan, the costs of the project were to be 
initially funded by the Federal Government, but repaid by local 
users, with interest, over a 50-year period following 
completion of construction. But participants were unable to 
comply with that repayment obligation.
    In 2009, President Obama signed the Omnibus Public Land 
Management Act of 2009, which not only reduced the repayment 
obligation from 100 percent to 35 percent but also provided 
that miscellaneous revenues from the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project 
at large would count towards the AVC cost share. Even then, 
however, construction did not begin until 14 years later, after 
the State of Colorado authorized $100 million in loans and 
grants for the project.
    The current bill would now have the Federal Government 
extend the repayment period (on the already-reduced repayment 
requirement) for an additional 25 years, creating a 75-year 
repayment period. The bill would also cut the interest rate in 
half.
    More than $249 million has already been spent on the AVC, 
and total costs are estimated to be $1.3 billion. H.R. 131 
would continue the failed policies of the past by forcing 
Federal taxpayers to bear even more of the massive costs of a 
local water project--a local water project that, as initially 
conceived, was supposed to be paid for by the localities using 
it.
    Enough is enough. My Administration is committed to 
preventing American taxpayers from funding expensive and 
unreliable policies. Ending the massive cost of taxpayer 
handouts and restoring fiscal sanity is vital to economic 
growth and the fiscal health of the Nation.
    For these reasons, I cannot support the Finish the Arkansas 
Valley Conduit Act. Therefore, it is my duty to return H.R. 131 
to the House of Representatives without my approval.
    This project is a mismanagement disgrace. Went from 249 
million dollars to 1.3 billion dollars--and going higher! Now 
they want the Federal Government to reduce interest rate and 
extend payment to 75 years. So wrong. Really bad government. 
Pay up--

                                                   Donald J. Trump.
    The White House, December 29, 2025.

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