Congress Should Override Veto of Water Resources Development Act, Group Urges

Contact:

Sharyn Stein, 202-572-3396 [email protected]

Sean Crowley, 202-572-3331 [email protected]

(Washington, DC – November 2, 2007) – Environmental Defense today urged Congress to quickly override the President Bush’s veto of the $23 billion Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), despite the fact that both houses of Congress passed it by veto proof margins. The Senate passed WRDA by a vote of 81 to 12 and the House passed it by a vote of 381-40.

“WRDA has important reforms and funding for critical projects, including directives to bolster New Orleans’ levees and plug the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, ” said Paul Harrison, Coastal Louisiana Project Director for Environmental Defense. “The bill does have pork barrel boondoggles too, but the president has other avenues at his disposal to stop those. We urge congressional leaders to follow through on their promise to override the president’s veto quickly.”

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Environmental Defense, a leading national nonprofit organization, represents more than 500,000 members. Since 1967, Environmental Defense has linked science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships to create breakthrough solutions to the most serious environmental problems.

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