WASHINGTON — Congress delivered its first override of a veto by President Bush on Thursday, giving final approval to a $23-billion bill that authorizes water projects eagerly sought by lawmakers from both parties.
The Senate overwhelmingly voted to override the veto, 79 to 14, with a majority of Republicans and Democrats rejecting Bush's assertion that the bill was fiscally irresponsible. The House voted earlier this week to override the veto.
"I have complete respect for the president of the United States, and I don't like to vote against him, but he's just wrong to veto this bill," Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) said.
The override vote is expected to intensify the battle between the White House and the Democratic-controlled Congress over the federal budget.
Bush has threatened to veto most of the appropriations bills, contending they call for too much spending. Democrats are seeking to spend more than Bush would on health, education, the environment and other domestic programs.
A number of Republicans said that although they broke with the president over the water bill, they would support his other efforts to rein in overall spending.
"I'm going to be supporting him on most of his vetoes," said Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott (R-Miss.), who voted to override. "But in this case, I believe that this bill is in the best interests of the country. I know it's very beneficial to my state."
Bush spokeswoman Dana Perino said the White House was disappointed but not surprised by the veto. "We understand that members of Congress are going to support the projects in their districts," she said. "Budgeting is about making choices and defining priorities -- it doesn't mean you can have everything. This bill doesn't make the difficult choices; it says we can fund every idea out there. That's not a responsible way to budget."
The Water Resources Development Act authorizes about 900 projects, including millions of dollars to protect the Gulf Coast from storms, restore the Florida Everglades and replace seven Depression-era locks on the upper Mississippi and Illinois rivers.
For California, it authorizes $1.3 billion for projects, including $25 million to revitalize the Los Angeles River and $106 million to shore up levees in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Brian M. Riedl, a budget analyst at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank, called the override "a disappointing loss for fiscal restraint" but noted that "congressional Republicans are much more united against the appropriations bills."
