The Senate is expected to vote as early as today to override the President’s veto of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), a crucial vote for the safety and prosperity of the Louisiana and the entire nation. Yesterday, the House marshaled the necessary two-thirds majority to buck the President’s misguided stand.

While this bill is scheduled to pass every two years, it has been stuck in gridlock for the last seven. Demonstrated by the catastrophic collapse of levees in the New Orleans region two years ago and the recent Minnesota bridge collapse, our nation’s infrastructure is badly in need of repair. As a percentage of our GDP, we spend one-tenth as much on infrastructure as we did 70 years ago. By making vital investments in our levee systems and water resources infrastructure, including our flood protection and wetland restoration, we will be taking necessary steps toward an answer to this imposing challenge. Furthermore, tens of thousands of Louisiana jobs, and millions of American jobs, rely on our ability to get American goods to market quickly and efficiently. This Water Resources Act will maintain America’s competitive edge by strengthening our ports and global avenues of commerce.

The Louisiana delegation, Republicans and Democrats, all have united behind WRDA. The bill authorizes $7 billion for Louisiana, as estimated by the Congressional Budget Office, and is a lifeline for coastal communities that are increasingly vulnerable to rising sea levels and storm surges. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita dumped 217 square miles of coastal wetlands into the Gulf of Mexico, an area 3.5 times the size of Washington, D.C. This bill works to reverse wetland loss with an historic commitment to coastal restoration that includes $1.9 billion in authorizations for Louisiana Coastal Area Ecosystem Restoration projects (LCA).

It also authorizes $886 million for the “Morganza to the Gulf� hurricane protection project. When complete, it will provide storm protection to Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes, home to more than 200,000 Louisianians who have waited too long for Congress’ promise to be fulfilled. They stand watch over a massive national energy infrastructure that produces, processes and transports nearly a quarter of America’s oil and natural gas and about 20 percent of our imported oil. Energy production in Louisiana keeps the lights on all over the United States, but the continued loss of Louisiana wetlands, in turn, critically endangers our nation’s energy security.

The president, who has rung up $3 trillion in federal debt since he took office, said he vetoed the $23 billion bill because it “lacks fiscal discipline.” He is correct that an investment in our national infrastructure is expensive. However, the cost of this bill is the result of not enacting a bill in seven years. The price tag is in line with what would have been spent over this period if a WRDA bill had been signed into law every two years as intended, and the price of inaction is far greater, as witnessed by the more than $150 billion and climbing cost of Katrina and Rita recovery.

The Senate has the chance to successfully override this veto, demonstrating the necessary commitment to America’s core infrastructure. It will also show Congress’ dedication to giving Louisiana the hurricane and flood protection it needs to prevent another catastrophe. Let’s give a green light to these projects and start turning dirt. Our people need protection now. The Senate can triumph over partisan politics and work to fulfill this promise.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 7th, 2007 at 11:01 am and is filed under Energy/Environment, Politics, The Administration .