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Bush Veto Threatens Water Projects

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By BILLY HOUSE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 5, 2007

WASHINGTON - Despite a presidential veto threat, the Senate this week may send to the president's desk a more than $20 billion federal water-projects bill authorizing tens of millions of dollars for the Tampa Bay area.

Included is a $6.25 million authorization for a project to boost Hillsborough County's ability to provide reclaimed water to its customers, in part by using abandoned phosphate mines to capture and store wet-season rainfall.

An additional $12.9 million would be authorized to improve navigation along one of Tampa Bay's main shipping channels.

And about 50 other Army Corps of Engineers projects would be authorized for the Bay area and across Florida by the 2007 Water Resources Development Act. That includes $2 billion for Everglades cleanup work, $139 million for ports, and $70 million for beach renourishment.

The U.S. House passed the measure Aug. 1 with a 381-40 vote, after ironing out differences with the Senate in a conference that resulted in a final, two-house bill.

The Senate is expected to overwhelmingly pass the same bill. But if it does, the White House warns that President Bush will veto it because of its price tag.

In an Aug. 1 letter to congressional committee chairmen, the Office of Management and Budget noted that the House initially had passed its own version with only a $15 billion cost and the Senate version cost $14 billion.

'Indeed, it seems a $14 billion Senate bill went into a conference with the House's $15 billion bill and somehow a bill emerged costing approximately $20 billion,' the letter from former OMB Director Rob Portman complained. 'This is not how most Americans would expect their representatives in Washington to reach agreement, especially when it is their tax dollars that are being spent.'

Bush has vetoed only three measures in his more than 6 1/2 years as president - two stem-cell research bills and one Iraq war bill.

In reality, a project's inclusion in the measure is not guaranteed money. But getting into an authorization bill is a necessary first step in securing that money in a later spending bill.

Because the Senate and House have not been able to reach compromise on a water resources bill since 2000, lawmakers see this as a rare opportunity to get congressional approval for a range of corps of engineers civil works projects in their states and districts.

Both of the state's senators, as well as Democratic U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor of Tampa, say they will help fight to see Congress override any presidential veto.

GOP Sen. Mel Martinez shares the president's concern on the bill's excessive spending, said his spokesman, Ken Lundberg.

But Martinez also said: 'The seven-year delay in Everglades restoration alone has cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. Delaying this bill will only add to the cost.'

Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson also feels strongly about delays to Everglades restoration plans and is ready to fight against the anticipated veto because of the bill's importance to Florida, his office said.

Along with the bill's price tag, Portman wrote in his veto-threat letter that other 'unacceptable' provisions of the legislation are its inclusion of authorizations for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure improvements.

Portman wrote that those types of projects historically have been state and local responsibilities and 'divert funds away' from the main responsibilities of the Army Corps of Engineers.

The corps more traditionally takes on jobs in three main areas: flood mitigation, shoreline and ecosystem restoration, and navigation projects.

But Castor says that if such criticism is intended to include the $6.25 million reclaimed water project for Hillsborough County, then 'the Bush administration simply doesn't understand the importance of this project to the county.'

Nelson got the money into the initial Senate version of the bill. And, at Castor's urging, House leaders agreed to incorporate it into the final, two-house version.

'This is called the Water Resources Development Act,' Castor said. 'And in the Tampa Bay area for many years we've been through very serious droughts.'

In addition, Castor was able to get last-second language inserted during the two-house conference that would give the federal government maintenance responsibility on a small portion of Sparkman Channel and Davis Islands.

Budget watchdogs have criticized the practice of adding items to a bill that late.

Castor said she is simply 'speaking up and being the most determined advocate for my district. I'll look for every opportunity - in committee, through the rules committee, and through the conference committee.'

The bill authorizes the construction of passing lanes in the Port of Tampa at Cut B, just west of the turnoff to Port Manatee, and makes shoreline restoration for Egmont Key, at the mouth of Tampa Bay, a priority.

GOP Rep. Adam Putnam of Bartow had joined with Castor in getting authorization for periodic dredging of federal channels in Tampa Bay in the initial House bill.

But although he supported that original bill, Putnam was one of the 40 House members to vote against the final, two-house agreement.

'A $15 billion House bill went to conference with the Senate's $14 billion measure, and somehow a bill emerged costing approximately $20 billion,' Putnam said in a statement explaining his switch. 'This is not the way to care for the taxpayers' money, and it typifies one of the reasons people have been losing confidence in Congress.'

Other critics, such as Steve Ellis of Taxpayers for Common Sense, say they wonder whether some of the projects will see a dime of the federal money.

Ellis notes that the corps has an enormous backlog - $38 billion nationally in previously authorized but still-not-constructed projects - for which it is awaiting appropriations from Congress.

Adding $20 billion in projects to the corps' ever-expanding to-do list is unrealistic, Ellis said, and little more than 'letting a lot of lawmakers put out press releases to their constituents touting how they got approval for these projects.'

'But there are so many still-unfunded projects in the system now that many of these new projects are not worth the paper they are printed on,' Ellis said.

'What this bill is really building is a pipe dream,' he said.

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

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