Congress pledges to override veto

WASHINGTON – President Bush delivered his threatened veto of a $23 billion water bill Friday, but Congress is certain to reverse it in the first override of a Bush veto.

The veto comes as Bush and Congress move closer to a showdown over spending on the federal budget that could draw more vetoes.

The House and Senate are expected to move swiftly next week to override Bush’s veto of a bill loaded with water-related projects eagerly sought by members of both parties, from shoring up California’s levees to protecting the Gulf Coast from hurricanes.

In his veto message, Bush said, “This bill lacks fiscal discipline.”

On Capitol Hill, Sen. David Vitter, R-La., said, “I am 100 percent confident that we can override this veto.”

The bipartisan response to the veto underscores the difficulty the president faces in his new zeal to hold down federal spending, especially when it affects highly visible construction projects cherished by lawmakers.

“This will be the first veto this Congress has overridden, and it was all about getting parochial water projects back to their home districts,” said Steve Ellis of Taxpayers for Common Sense.

The bill would authorize more than 900 projects, such as the restoration of the Florida Everglades and the replacement of seven Depression-era locks on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois rivers that farm groups say is critical for shipping grain.

It is only the fifth bill that Bush has vetoed – the fewest by any president since James A. Garfield, who was shot in 1881 after four months in office and died weeks later.