[StBernard] Tell President Bush: Don't Veto the Flood Control Bill

[Westley Annis]

In what one Louisiana newspaper is calling "a sharp and unexpected blow to
Louisiana," President Bush is threatening to veto a critical water resources
and flood control bill now in Congress. This bill is crucial to Louisiana's
economy and future safety. It means billions of dollars to our state.

The Water Resources Development Act that the President is threatening to
veto, if passed and signed into law, would greatly enhance flood protection,
navigation, and levee protection in Louisiana.

President Bush's veto threat is a dagger aimed at the heart of Louisiana's
future. It threatens not only hurricane recovery but Louisiana's entire
economy. Republicans and Democrats alike are shocked by the administration's
position. We all must stand united as we stand up for Louisiana.


Tell President Bush: the time to act on flood protection for Louisiana is
now -- before it's too late.
<http://action.marylandrieu.com/page/m/lqrWe1bmhnD/cKytaR>  

U.S. House and Senate negotiators recently reached an agreement on the water
resources bill, and about 20 percent of the projects authorized in the
legislation would go to Louisiana. The measure has significant bipartisan
support in both the U.S. Senate and House.


Unfortunately, the Administration's Office of Management and Budget has
attacked key projects in the bill as "unaffordable and unnecessary."

This is the same tired, wrong-headed argument that politicians and
bureaucrats used for years when they obstructed stronger levee systems and
coastal protections that, had they been in place in 2005, could have saved
lives and immense loss in Louisiana as well as saved the taxpayers of the
United States tens of billions of dollars in hurricane recovery costs.

It is amazing that after all we've been through that this administration
would have such a callous view toward our state's future.

Among other projects, the bill the President threatens to kill would
authorize a 72-mile system of levees and floodwalls to protect Terrebonne
and Lafourche parishes from storms sweeping in from the Gulf of Mexico. It
includes nearly $2 billion for Louisiana coastal restoration and would
strengthen New Orleans-area levees and authorize $100 million for hurricane
protection in Jean Lafitte and lower Jefferson Parish.

Join me in strongly urging the President to reconsider his veto threat by
signing my petition!
<http://action.marylandrieu.com/page/m/lqrWe1bmhnD/cKytaR>  

Despite the President's opposition to the water resources bill, I am happy
to announce that Congress is moving in the right direction in favor of
Louisiana on a number of other fronts. The Senate Homeland Security
Committee has approved legislation I sponsored that would allow Louisiana to
use $1.2 billion in hazard mitigation financing to help close a shortfall in
the state's housing rebuilding program. The Homeland Security Committee, of
which I am a member, has recognized the scope of the 2005 hurricanes and has
backed my bill to reduce the Road Home program's shortfall and fast-track
money to hurricane victims.

Our fight for Louisiana's future goes on. We cannot allow a presidential
veto threat to stand in our state's way.
<http://action.marylandrieu.com/page/m/lqrWe1bmhnD/cKytaR> 

Sincerely,


Mary Landrieu
U.S. Senator from Louisiana