Water Resources Development Act of 2007
Encyclopedia
The Water Resources Development Act of 2007 or WRDA 2007 is a United States law that reauthorized the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), and authorized flood control, navigation, and environmental projects and studies by the United States Army Corps of Engineers
. However, the law does not appropriate
funds for those projects and programs. It was passed by the 110th United States Congress
on November 8, 2007 over President George W. Bush
's veto.
considered a bill (H.R.1495), sponsored by Rep. Jim Oberstar
(D-Minn.), to authorize the Secretary of the Army to construct various projects for improvements to rivers and harbors of the United States.
Among its many projects, the bill authorized the following:
The bill passed, 394-25.
, it was held up in the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works because of the development of a substitute bill intended to fix several problems apparent in the original. One such problem was that the earmark disclosure table was printed in tiny type and was reproduced as a single image, making a computerized search impossible. Committee sources said the printing snafu was unintentional, having more to do with the way the Government Printing Office reproduced the legislation than the way the committee intended it to be presented. The Congressional Budget Office
estimated that the Senate bill would cost $31.5 billion, more than twice the estimate of the House bill that was estimated at around $13.2 billion. The substitute bill would be introduced to bring the cost down to around the same estimate as the House version, fix the printing problem, and to rearrange some of the earmarks of the original version.
On May 9, the Senate invoked cloture
on the $13.2 billion version of the bill (identical to the one passed by the House), 89-7.
The following week, the bill was amended. Specifically, the Senate agreed to spend more, at least $15 billion on Gulf Coast projects that would ensure more protection for New Orleans and the surrounding area from Category 5 hurricanes
. Spending for the House version was "$6.7 billion over the 2008-2012 period and an additional $6.5 billion over the 10 years after 2012. The Senate version would spend about $5.5 billion over the 2008-2012 period and an additional $26 billion over the 10 years after 2012."
The Senate version would also limit the number of projects the Army Corps of Engineers would work on, reducing it from 50 to 40.
, clean water, and flood control programs, passed both chambers of Congress, was vetoed by President Bush, but Democratic Party
leaders promised to quickly override this veto. “When we override this irresponsible veto, perhaps the president will finally recognize that Congress is an equal branch of government and reconsider his many other reckless veto threats,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
(D-Nev.). Howard Marlowe of Marlowe & Associates said, “Water resources are critical to the nation’s economy and international competitiveness. To say this is too expensive flies in the face of the fact that the administration has done nothing over the past seven years to build water resources infrastructure.” "Without a Water Resources Development Act
, which is seven years overdue, we are seeing our coastline disappear," said Rep. Charles Boustany
(R-La).
(TCS) commented that the bill was just a continuation of the political practices that led to the Hurricane Katrina disaster in 2005. It stated, "In the starkest terms, Katrina showed us that the time is long passed to end the political spoils system
that has driven water project investment for more than a century. We need a modern, accountable and prioritized system to develop and award projects. It's a message that Congress has failed to grasp." While the bill provided funding for water projects around the country, it also contained "more than 800 parochial pork barrel
projects for virtually every Congressional district in the nation." TCS complained that instead of dispersing funds by need, the legislators distributed as much as they could to their own districts.
ed the bill on November 2, explaining:
President Bush's veto. House members from both parties representing those areas stressed that Bush was misguided in trying to kill the bill. The next day, the Senate also voted to override the veto 79 - 14 (67 required), making it the first veto override of Bush's term. The bill only authorizes projects like coastal restoration and river navigation, funding must still be secured via the appropriations committees..
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
. However, the law does not appropriate
Appropriation bill
An appropriation bill or running bill is a legislative motion which authorizes the government to spend money. It is a bill that sets money aside for specific spending...
funds for those projects and programs. It was passed by the 110th United States Congress
110th United States Congress
The One Hundred Tenth United States Congress was the meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, between January 3, 2007, and January 3, 2009, during the last two years of the second term of President George W. Bush. It was composed of the Senate and the House of...
on November 8, 2007 over President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
's veto.
House
On April 19, 2007, the United States House of RepresentativesUnited States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
considered a bill (H.R.1495), sponsored by Rep. Jim Oberstar
Jim Oberstar
James Louis "Jim" Oberstar is a former U.S. Representative who served in the U.S. Congress from 1975 until 2011 as a member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party. He represented northeastern , which included the cities of Duluth, Brainerd, Grand Rapids, International Falls, and Hibbing...
(D-Minn.), to authorize the Secretary of the Army to construct various projects for improvements to rivers and harbors of the United States.
Among its many projects, the bill authorized the following:
- Conduct navigation and ecosystemEcosystemAn ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
improvements involving the Illinois WaterwayIllinois WaterwayThe Illinois Waterway system consists of of water from the mouth of the Calumet River to the mouth of the Illinois River at Grafton, Illinois. It is a system of rivers, lakes, and canals which provide a shipping connection from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi River. The...
system. The effort would span 854 miles from the Ohio RiverOhio RiverThe Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
and down the Mississippi RiverMississippi RiverThe Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
to the St. Anthony Falls lockLock (water transport)A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...
in Minneapolis, Minn. About 327 miles of the Illinois Waterway would be improved. Mooring facilities would be installed at various locks and new locks would be authorized on the Mississippi and the Illinois Waterway. The overall cost would be $1.8 billion.
- Launch a task force comprising various federal Department Secretaries and State officials called the Coastal Louisiana Ecosystem Protection and Restoration Task Force. It would make recommendations and propose strategies to protect, repair, restore and maintain the ecosystem of the Louisiana coastal zone.
- Direct funds to help restore the FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
EvergladesEvergladesThe Everglades are subtropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large watershed. The system begins near Orlando with the Kissimmee River, which discharges into the vast but shallow Lake Okeechobee...
. Specifically, Florida Everglade restoration would move slightly forward with a section of the bill that authorizes three projects related to the restoration. The Indian River LagoonIndian River LagoonThe Indian River Lagoon is a grouping of three lagoons: Mosquito Lagoon, Banana River, and the Indian River, on the Atlantic Coast of Florida. It was originally named Rio de Ais after the Ais Indian tribe, who lived along the east coast of Florida....
ecosystem restoration would move forward with $1.4 billion (the Federal cost is estimated at $682.5 million and the non-Federal, state costs around $682.5 million). The related Picayune Strand element of the Florida project is estimated at $187.7 million federal and the same from the State of Florida. The third, site 1 impoundment projects would divide $80 million between the state and federal governments. Credit to reimburse non-federal participants in the restoration project would be granted, but future claims would need to be based on a written agreement that the non-federal entity would do the work. A three mile section of the famed Tamiami TrailTamiami TrailThe Tamiami Trail is the southernmost of U.S. Highway 41 from State Road 60 in Tampa to U.S. Route 1 in Miami. The road also has the hidden designation of State Road 90....
would be raised or replaced with bridges to allow better Everglade’s water flow.
The bill passed, 394-25.
Senate
When the bill was introduced in the United States SenateUnited States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, it was held up in the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works because of the development of a substitute bill intended to fix several problems apparent in the original. One such problem was that the earmark disclosure table was printed in tiny type and was reproduced as a single image, making a computerized search impossible. Committee sources said the printing snafu was unintentional, having more to do with the way the Government Printing Office reproduced the legislation than the way the committee intended it to be presented. The Congressional Budget Office
Congressional Budget Office
The Congressional Budget Office is a federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government that provides economic data to Congress....
estimated that the Senate bill would cost $31.5 billion, more than twice the estimate of the House bill that was estimated at around $13.2 billion. The substitute bill would be introduced to bring the cost down to around the same estimate as the House version, fix the printing problem, and to rearrange some of the earmarks of the original version.
On May 9, the Senate invoked cloture
Cloture
In parliamentary procedure, cloture is a motion or process aimed at bringing debate to a quick end. It is also called closure or, informally, a guillotine. The cloture procedure originated in the French National Assembly, from which the name is taken. Clôture is French for "ending" or "conclusion"...
on the $13.2 billion version of the bill (identical to the one passed by the House), 89-7.
The following week, the bill was amended. Specifically, the Senate agreed to spend more, at least $15 billion on Gulf Coast projects that would ensure more protection for New Orleans and the surrounding area from Category 5 hurricanes
Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
The Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale , or the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale , classifies hurricanes — Western Hemisphere tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of tropical depressions and tropical storms — into five categories distinguished by the intensities of their sustained winds...
. Spending for the House version was "$6.7 billion over the 2008-2012 period and an additional $6.5 billion over the 10 years after 2012. The Senate version would spend about $5.5 billion over the 2008-2012 period and an additional $26 billion over the 10 years after 2012."
The Senate version would also limit the number of projects the Army Corps of Engineers would work on, reducing it from 50 to 40.
Support
The Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) bill, which authorizes funding for a variety of projects, including beach nourishmentBeach nourishment
Beach nourishment— also referred to as beach replenishment—describes a process by which sediment lost through longshore drift or erosion is replaced from sources outside of the eroding beach...
, clean water, and flood control programs, passed both chambers of Congress, was vetoed by President Bush, but Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
leaders promised to quickly override this veto. “When we override this irresponsible veto, perhaps the president will finally recognize that Congress is an equal branch of government and reconsider his many other reckless veto threats,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
Harry Reid
Harry Mason Reid is the senior United States Senator from Nevada, serving since 1987. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been the Senate Majority Leader since January 2007, having previously served as Minority Leader and Minority and Majority Whip.Previously, Reid was a member of the U.S...
(D-Nev.). Howard Marlowe of Marlowe & Associates said, “Water resources are critical to the nation’s economy and international competitiveness. To say this is too expensive flies in the face of the fact that the administration has done nothing over the past seven years to build water resources infrastructure.” "Without a Water Resources Development Act
Water Resources Development Act
Water Resources Development Act , is a reference to public laws enacted by Congress to deal with various aspects of water resources: environmental, structural, navigational, flood protection, hydrology, etc....
, which is seven years overdue, we are seeing our coastline disappear," said Rep. Charles Boustany
Charles Boustany
Charles William Boustany, Jr. is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life, education, and medical career:...
(R-La).
Opposition
A watchdog group, Taxpayers for Common SenseTaxpayers for Common Sense
Taxpayers for Common Sense is a nonpartisan federal budget watchdog organization based in Washington, D.C. in the United States. TCS is a 501 non-profit organization; its 501 affiliate is Taxpayers for Common Sense Action . The current president of TCS is Ryan Alexander...
(TCS) commented that the bill was just a continuation of the political practices that led to the Hurricane Katrina disaster in 2005. It stated, "In the starkest terms, Katrina showed us that the time is long passed to end the political spoils system
Spoils system
In the politics of the United States, a spoil system is a practice where a political party, after winning an election, gives government jobs to its voters as a reward for working toward victory, and as an incentive to keep working for the party—as opposed to a system of awarding offices on the...
that has driven water project investment for more than a century. We need a modern, accountable and prioritized system to develop and award projects. It's a message that Congress has failed to grasp." While the bill provided funding for water projects around the country, it also contained "more than 800 parochial pork barrel
Pork barrel
Pork barrel is a derogatory term referring to appropriation of government spending for localized projects secured solely or primarily to bring money to a representative's district...
projects for virtually every Congressional district in the nation." TCS complained that instead of dispersing funds by need, the legislators distributed as much as they could to their own districts.
Bush veto
President Bush vetoVeto
A veto, Latin for "I forbid", is the power of an officer of the state to unilaterally stop an official action, especially enactment of a piece of legislation...
ed the bill on November 2, explaining:
Veto override
The House voted 361 - 54 (290 required) to overrideOverride
Override may refer to:* Override * OverRide * Overriders, an insurance term* Overriding * Manual override, a function where an automated system is placed under manual control...
President Bush's veto. House members from both parties representing those areas stressed that Bush was misguided in trying to kill the bill. The next day, the Senate also voted to override the veto 79 - 14 (67 required), making it the first veto override of Bush's term. The bill only authorizes projects like coastal restoration and river navigation, funding must still be secured via the appropriations committees..