WASHINGTON, D.C. — The $23 billion Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) became law last week when Congress overturned President Bush’s veto by a 361-54 vote in the House and a 79-14 margin in the Senate.

The vote cleared the way for the construction of seven new locks on the Illinois and upper Mississippi rivers, hundreds of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects and a major river ecosystem restoration initiative.

While legislators and agriculture leaders praised the action, the Bush administration reaffirmed its position that the bill is too costly and laden with unnecessary projects.

“The president is standing up for the taxpayers,” said White House Press Secretary Dana Perino. “No one is surprised that this veto is overridden. We understand that members of Congress are going to support the projects in their districts. Budgeting is about making choices and defining priorities – it doesn’t mean you can have everything.

“This bill doesn’t make the difficult choices; it says we can fund every idea out there. That’s not a responsible way to budget.”

Members of Congress felt differently, overwhelmingly handing Bush his first presidential veto override during his seven-year presidency. Thirty-four Republican senators broke party ranks with Bush in the override.

The bill “is one of the few areas where we actually do something constructive,” said Trent Lott, Senate minority whip. “(These) are good, deserved, justified projects.”

Along with lock and dam upgrades important to United States farmers, the bill also includes money for Corps projects such as sewage plant and beach restoration and funding for Florida Everglades restoration projects and Gulf Coast hurricane aid.

“(The Bush administration) can’t keep rolling over us like this,” said Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), following Congress’ final approval of WRDA.

The National Corn Growers Assoc. (NCGA), American Soybean Assoc. (ASA) and the American Assoc. of Port Authorities (AAPA) were among several organizations that had worked to pass the bill, which is the first water resources bill to be approved in seven years. “When it comes to this issue, nothing has been easy,” said NCGA President Ron Litterer. “After almost two decades of work by corn growers, millions of dollars spent on studies, seven years of waiting on the legislative process, a presidential veto and then a veto override by the U.S. Congress, we finally have achieved authorization to modernize seven locks on the upper Mississippi River System.

“Once again, our grower-members demonstrated their influence and commitment to (WRDA) by contacting their members of Congress and urging them to overturn the president’s veto.”

Warren Kemper, a member of the NCGA production and stewardship action team, said WRDA passage was a product of perseverance and cooperation on the part of ag leaders, farmers and legislators.

“For nearly a decade, I have worked with fellow growers and congressional staff on this legislation. I share this triumph with the countless individuals who waged this battle with me,” said Kemper.

Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond (R-Mo.) praised the 33,000-member NCGA for its unflagging efforts in keeping pressure on Congress to pass WRDA, saying “this success would not have been possible without the broad-based coalition of industry, labor and agriculture led by the corn growers who had the vision and patience to achieve victory.”

ASA President John Hoffman issued a statement lauding Congress’ action, but warned that more work is ahead. “Although these authorized projects must still be funded through the annual federal appropriations process, we are very pleased that this major step has been accomplished,” Hoffman said.

The AAPA call WRDA a crucial bill that will represent just the beginning of the process of addressing America’s water resources infrastructure needs, ranging from navigation system and flood control improvements, to restoring wetlands and repairing damage caused by hurricanes in 2005.

“Now that this important legislation has become law, AAPA will continue to advocate for America’s critical water resources infrastructure, and we will continue to work with Congress to ensure that future WRDA bills get back on a biennial cycle so this nation is never again faced with a seven-year backlog of water resources projects waiting to be authorized,” explained Kurt Nagle, president and CEO of AAPA, which represents 160 port authorities in the U.S. and abroad.

Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio), a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee and a conferee on the bill, released a statement touting the bill’s passage as a major step towards bolstering Ohio’s water quality.

“Cleaning up our nation’s lakes and streams is critical to improving our nation’s water quality, and today we advanced this issue in the right direction,” he said.

Some information for this article was provided by the Associated Press.