[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.