For Immediate Release
Nov. 6, 2007
Contact: Abigail McDonough
202-22506511
KANJORSKI VOTES TO OVERRIDE
PRESIDENT'S VETO OF WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ACT
The Bill Authorizes $114.5 Million for
Projects
in Northeastern
Pennsylvania
WASHINGTON
- Today,
Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski (PA-11) joined 360 of his colleagues to
successfully override President Bush's veto of H.R. 1495, the Water Resources
Development Act (WRDA). The bill would
provide authorization for three major projects in Northeastern Pennsylvania,
including the $44.5 million Bloomsburg Flood Control Project, the $50 million Solomon
Creek Flood Control Project, and authorization for $20 million to correct the
combined sewage overflows along the Susquehanna River.
"It's outrageous for the President
to demand the restoration of a dam in Iraq,
while he refuses to authorize similar projects severely needed in the U.S.," stated
Congressman Kanjorski. "President Bush
neglected Pennsylvanians and all Americans by vetoing the Water Resources
Development Act. I'm proud to have participated in a landslide vote in the
House to override that veto."
WRDA authorizes funding for the Army Corps of Engineers to
work on projects such as flood control,
dam safety, water supply, recreation, and environmental restoration and
protection. Congress typically passes WRDA bills every two years, but
the last WRDA was passed in 2000. The
bill would affect the following projects in the 11th district of
Pennsylvania:
- Bloomsburg
Flood Control Project - Includes authorization for $44.5 million
to have the Army Corps of Engineers to construct levees and floodwalls in
the west end of Bloomsburg to protect 12,000 residents in more than 400
homes in Bloomsburg and seven major commercial enterprises. Substantial floods in 1936, 1972, 1975,
and 2006 have cost the citizens of Bloomsburg millions of dollars in
damage.
- Solomon Creek
Flood Control Project - Includes authorization for $50 million to enhance flood
protection for Solomon
Creek in the Wyoming
Valley Levee Raising Project. This
provision would permit the Army Corps of Engineers to construct a
project to protect more than 300 homes and businesses from flooding when Solomon Creek's water level rises. Solomon Creek
overtopped its banks causing flood damages three times since 2004, most
recently in November 2006.
- Correcting
Combined Sewage Overflows Along Susquehanna River - Includes authorization for
$20 million to correct sewer outfalls that currently release untreated
sewage into the Susquehanna River during
heavy rain or snowfall. The funds
are to rectify the most significant sources of combined sewage overflows
which cause the discharge of untreated sewage into the Susquehanna River
approximately 37 times per year during heavy rainfalls.
The WRDA bill originally passed in the U.S.
House of Representatives by a vote of 381 to 40, and it passed in the U.S.
Senate by a vote of 81 to 12. The
President vetoed the legislation on November 2. Passage by a two-thirds margin in both
the House and Senate is required to override the President's veto. Because
the House overrode this veto today, the bill will go back to the Senate where
is expected to garner enough votes to also override the veto.
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