November 3, 2007 (LPAC)--Yesterday, President Bush officially vetoed the Water Resources Development Act, a bill that would authorize $23 billion for all kinds of water infrastructure projects, and is the first bill of its kind since 2000. In his veto message, Bush complained that the bill "lacks fiscal discipline" and that 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."

Bush's veto, in the face of the bill passing both the House and the Senate with solid veto-proof majorities, not to mention the huge unmet needs in maintenance of water infrastructure, angered members of the Congress on both sides of the aisle. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) said the veto "sends the wrong message" about shoring up vital infrastructure. Rep. Charles Boustany (R-La.) told the Washington Post, in an interview, "I question why the president would want to invite an override on this, because that's what's going to happen. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) has already set an override vote for this coming week.

W.F. Marcuson, the president of the American Society of Civil Engineers, in a press release, called on the Congress to quickly override the veto to secure the economic and environmental health of the nation. "The American public has been waiting for six years for the protection this legislation will provide," he said. "They should not have to wait any longer."