House of Representatives vote on water bill marks first override of a President Bush veto
This may not seem like a big deal, but it is. It means that Bush can't do whatever/whenever anymore. Congratulations go to Congresswoman Johnson who lead the override effort.
Washington, DC (Tuesday, November 6, 2007) – By a vote of 361 to 54, the House of Representatives today acted to override the President’s veto of H.R. 1495, the Water Resources Development Act of 2007. This override vote was the first successful override by the House of a veto by President Bush.
Under the Constitution, a bill that has been vetoed by the President becomes law if two-thirds of the Members in the House and Senate vote to pass the bill over the objections of the President, and thereby override the veto of the President. The Senate is expected to take up the override vote on Wednesday.
“This is a great day for the House of Representatives, because we stood together – Democrats and Republicans – to do the right thing,” said Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (Tex.), Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment. “It is a great day for communities across the country, because they have been waiting for Federal assistance to upgrade their water infrastructure systems. It is a great day for Gulf Coast residents, because they have been counting on President Bush to keep his promise that the Federal Government would help in the region’s hurricane recovery. It is a great day for Florida, because the state is one step closer to getting much-needed resources for Everglades restoration. And it is a great day for the Upper Mississippi River and the Illinois Waterway System, because the bill provides funding for a system of new locks and dams and environmental restoration.”
H.R. 1495 authorizes approximately $23 billion for more than 900 projects and studies for the Corps of Engineers within its existing missions of flood damage reduction, navigation, environmental restoration, water supply, hydropower, and environmental infrastructure. President Bush vetoed the bill on November 2, contending that it was too costly.
“Although the President said the bill is too costly, the funding level of this measure reached $23 billion because Republican Congresses have failed to pass a WRDA bill since 2000,” said Johnson. “In the past, Congress has enacted legislation every two years to authorize the Corps' projects. But under President Bush’s watch, no water resources legislation has been enacted. As a result, WRDA 2007 is actually three bills rolled into one.”
The House adopted the WRDA conference report on August 1 by a vote of 381 to 40, and the Senate followed suit on September 27 by a vote of 81 to 12.
“The House and Senate previously passed this legislation by an overwhelming margin, which demonstrates the bipartisan, bicameral nature of the bill,” said Johnson. “Whether the issue is bridges that collapse in Minnesota or levees that fail in New Orleans, our nation’s infrastructure has reached a critical juncture and may be on the verge of failure. I am proud that a two-thirds majority vote of the House stood together to override the President’s veto and take another step toward enacting this critical legislation.”
“I am confident that the Senate will also override the President’s veto tomorrow,” concluded Johnson.
Rep. James L. Oberstar (Minn.), Chairman of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, was unable to vote on the override, because he is recovering from neck surgery at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.
