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Bush Suffers 1st Veto Override

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By BILLY HOUSE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 9, 2007

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Senate gave final approval Thursday to the first congressional override of a veto by President Bush, putting into law a $23 billion water-resources bill that authorizes billions for Everglades restoration and tens of millions for Tampa Bay area projects.

The Senate's 79-14 vote came two days after the House voted 361-54 to override Bush's veto of the bill, which along with $2 billion for Everglades restoration also authorizes money for Florida ports, beach improvements and drinking-water projects.

Some of the most notable cheering Thursday could be heard in Tallahassee, where GOP Gov. Charlie Crist praised the Senate's action against the wishes of a Republican president as marking "a great day for Florida and the Everglades ecosystem."

"We are one step closer to our goal of restoring the South Florida Ecosystem and other critical natural habitats," Crist said in a statement. "I would like to thank our entire Florida congressional delegation for tirelessly working to get this legislation to the finish line."

Well, not quite the entire Florida delegation.

Florida's senators, Republican Mel Martinez and Democrat Bill Nelson, voted in support of the override Thursday.

But in the House, Tampa Bay area Republicans Adam Putnam of Bartow and C.W. Bill Young of Indian Shores were among those who stood with the president to oppose the override, along with fellow Republicans Tom Feeney of Oviedo, Cliff Stearns of Ocala and Jeff Miller of Chumuckla.

However, 34 Republican senators and 138 GOP House members did support the override.

Last Override Was 9 Years Ago

The vote now underscores Bush's political vulnerability as a president with just 14 months left in office.

It was just the 106th time Congress has chosen to override a presidential veto, dating from 1845 when then-President John Tyler clashed with lawmakers over buying military equipment, said Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, speaking on the Senate floor.

The last veto override was nine years ago this month against President Clinton.

Under the Republican Congress in power before this year, Bush had never vetoed budgetary bills, even those that included spending increases.

With Democrats taking control of both chambers in January, the 2007 Water Resources Development Act to fund Army Corps of Engineers projects marked his third veto of an appropriations-related bill this year.

Bush argued that the bill lacks fiscal discipline and is representative of "a pork-barrel system of federal authorization and funding where a project's merit is an afterthought."

He also complained that it authorizes more than 900 projects and programs to be done nationwide, which he said will exacerbate what is already a $38 billion backlog of previously authorized corps construction projects.

Even Republican allies, though, questioned Bush's decision to veto this particular bill, especially on the grounds of its cost.

That's because, in reality, a project's inclusion in the 2007 Water Resources Development Act is not guaranteed money. Getting it into an authorization bill is simply a first step in securing that money in a later spending bill that Congress must approve.

Egmont Key Restoration A Priority

Congress had not been able to reach a compromise on a water resources bill since 2000. Many lawmakers were champing at the bit to get approval for a range of needed and favored infrastructure projects in their states and districts, including projects to continue restoration of the Everglades and in the hurricane-ravaged areas of the Gulf Coast.

For the Bay area, the bill includes:

•A $6.25 million authorization for a project sought by Tampa Democratic Rep. Kathy Castor to boost Hillsborough County's ability to provide reclaimed water, in part by using abandoned phosphate mines to capture and store rain.

•A $12.9 million authorization toward improving navigation along one of Tampa Bay's main shipping channels. Specifically, the bill authorizes construction of passing lanes for the Port of Tampa at Cut B, just west of the turnoff to Port Manatee.

•$139 million for ports and $70 million for rebuilding beaches. The bill also specifies that shoreline restoration for Egmont Key, at the mouth of Tampa Bay, is to be one of the priorities.

GOP Rep. Gus Bilirakis of Palm Harbor said, "Floridians will benefit greatly from this increased federal funding, because it not only improves their environment, but waterworks programs are vital to sustaining Florida's growth and prosperity."

In a statement, Martinez said he agrees with Bush that the bill "lacks financial discipline," but passage of such a bill has been delayed for too long.

"It has meant delaying substantial federal involvement in a multitude of necessary projects, including the comprehensive Everglades restoration program," Martinez said.

Nelson was more emphatic. "It took Congress six years to pass it and a misguided president one day to try to kill it," he said. "Fortunately, common sense prevailed. Everglades restoration now will receive a much-needed boost."

Reporter Billy House can be reached at (202) 662-7673 or bhouse@tampatrib.com.

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