    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book II)]
    [November 2, 2007]
    [Page 1420]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Message to the House of Representatives Returning Without Approval the
    ``Water Resources Development Act of 2007''
    November 2, 2007

    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.