MR. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I will vote to sustain President Bush’s veto of the Water Resources Development Act. The President’s veto of the WRDA bill is a welcome opportunity for Congress to modify the flawed, bloated bill. Instead of overriding the veto, Congress should be taking this opportunity to fix the bill.

For seven years, I have worked with Senator McCain and many of our colleagues to achieve essential reforms of the Corps of Engineers, and have long anticipated the day that meaningful reforms are enacted. Unfortunately, during conference, the Senate’s strong Corps reform provisions were significantly watered down. Instead of the reform bill that the country needs, this bill is simply the latest example of business as usual.

After a decade of government and independent reports calling for reforming the Corps, and pointing out stunning flaws in Corps projects and project studies, and after the tragic failures of New Orleans’ levees during Hurricane Katrina, the American people deserve meaningful reforms to ensure that the projects the Corps builds are safe, appropriate, environmentally responsible and fiscally sound. The urgency and necessity could not be clearer.

A critical component of reforming the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is ensuring independent review of significant Corps projects. This bill provides review but does not ensure it is truly independent.

I will continue to push for Corps reforms that ensure fiscal responsibility, accountability, public safety, and environmental protections. This means ensuring that Americans’ tax dollars are spent on the most important priorities, not just on members’ pet projects. Earlier this year, I was joined by Senators McCain, Coburn, Carper, Gregg, Sununu, and DeMint in offering an amendment to form a commission of non-federal, water resources experts to provide Congress recommendations on a process for prioritizing Corps projects.

However, the Senate defeated this effort. I can only conclude that many of our colleagues think the status quo is acceptable. To me, there is nothing acceptable about a $58 billion backlog (soon to be $81 billion) of authorized but unfunded projects. Some of my colleagues have argued it is okay to authorize $23 billion in projects, because WRDA only authorizes projects and does not appropriate funds. This approach shirks our responsibility as elected officials. By authorizing WRDA projects, Congress is indicating these projects are worthy of funding and that taxpayer dollars should be committed to these projects. Unfortunately, without some way of prioritizing and with a limited annual construction budget of around $2 billion, our nation’s critical infrastructure and restoration projects—and the American people that depend on these water resources projects—will suffer.

The President did the right thing when he vetoed the WRDA bill and I am disappointed that Congress is determined to override that veto. My colleagues would be better off if they listened to people like Mark Beorkrem, a true Corps reform champion. Mark recently passed away, but his 20 years of advocacy on behalf of the Mississippi River and reforming the Corps of Engineers will have profound and lasting effects on the health and vitality of the Mississippi and rivers across the country. Most recently, Mark played a pivotal role in ensuring the inclusion of a comprehensive ecosystem restoration component in the Corps’ Mississippi River lock expansion project. He also provided leadership within the national Corps Reform Network, as well as the Sierra Club, sharing his knowledge and passion for environmental protection and restoration. The Mississippi and many of our nation’s rivers and wetlands are better off thanks to Mark’s tireless efforts. We should be guided by his example.

Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to support the President’s veto of the WRDA conference report, and I ask unanimous consent to place newspaper editorials on this bill in the record.