`Disappointed' Clinton Signs Water Bill Anyway

August 19, 1999

President Clinton has signed a water resources development bill into law. The bill authorizes water projects and programs of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He noted several areas of the legislation with which he was pleased, but he also enumerated several issues he believes are unresolved by the bill.

The bill authorizes development and implementation of a fish and wildlife habitat restoration plan for the Missouri River and an increase in the land along the river corridor authorized for acquisition from willing sellers. "These authorizations will allow us to recreate a string of natural areas along the length of this great American river," says Clinton.

Also included in the legislation is authority to continue related federal water resources projects in South Florida, something Clinton also supports.

However, he decried the $4 billion in new federal spending authorized for construction. The construction backlog at the U.S. Corps now is more than $27 billion, he says, and "it would require nearly 20 years at current funding levels just to complete all of the ongoing projects that Congress previously has authorized."