Will President Bush veto the new Sault superlock?

Imagine yourself talking to a used-car dealer.

You want to pay $14,000 for, say, a 2003 Ford Explorer.

The dealer wants $15,000.

So you get down to haggling and you strike a deal.

You agree to pay $20,000. Huh?

Welcome to the damnable porkbarrel arithmetic of Washington, D.C.

In the Michigan Soo, the hot topic today was something called the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA).

Passed yesterday in the U.S. House of Representatives, the bill directs the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to undertake more than 900 river and harbour improvements, one of which is the construction of a $342 million superlock at Sault Ste. Marie.

"The secretary [of the army] shall construct at federal expense a second lock, of a width not less than 110 feet and a length not less than 1,200 feet, adjacent to the existing lock at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan," the bill states.

Here's where the infernal Washington math comes in.

The Senate recommended a version of the WRDA including a $14 billion increase.

The House wanted a version calling for a $15 billion increase.

So, the two chambers sat down and somehow ended up with a $20 billion increase.

"Only in Washington do you split the difference between $14 billion and $15 billion by raising it to $20 billion," White House Press Secretary Tony Snow was telling reporters today.

"And I think the president wanted to make a pretty strong point about fiscal discipline," Snow said.

Indeed, the Bush administration has served notice that President Bush intends to veto the WRDA.

That, of course, would mean a presidential kibosh on the much-needed new Soo lock.

"Bush is right," Time Magazine's Michael Grunwald wrote today. "WRDA is a lousy bill, stuffed with more pork than Sonny's Barbecue, coddling a dysfunctional agency, perpetuating a dysfunctional system."

There's no doubt in the mind of Bart Stupak, the Upper Peninsula's Democratic congressman, that the new lock has to be built.

"The Soo locks are vital to our nation's economic security," Stupak said in statement released tonight. "If the Poe lock were damaged or put out of commission due to a natural disaster or a terrorist attack, the ripple effect on our steel industry and economy would be severe. I was pleased that my colleagues worked with me to include this authorizing legislation in the final conference report."

The question now is whether Bush has the political capital to make his lock-killing veto stick.

Under U.S. law, a presidential veto is not absolute.

It can be undone by two-thirds of Congress.

And Bush may find support hard to find, because WRDA contains projects dear to the political self-interests of Republican and Democratic politicians alike.

"[U.S. Army Corps of Engineers] projects are a form of currency on Capitol Hill," explains Time's Michael Grunwald. "Members use them to steer jobs and money to their districts and donors."

These porkbarrel projects are also long overdue.

Historically, WRDA has been renewed every two years, but yesterday's bill was the first new version since 2000.

Congressman Stupak believes Bush has already lost.

He points out that WRDA passed yesterday in a 381-40 vote, rendering it, in his words, "veto-proof."

“Congress authorized a new Soo Lock over twenty years ago, but the Army Corps of Engineers has only studied the project,” Stupak says. "The language in this legislation says that the time for studying the lock is over and that the U.S. Army Corps shall move forward with a new lock."

"There is no ambiguity in this WRDA bill when it comes to the Soo lock. The language even specifies the lock's dimensions. Now that the project is fully authorized, Great Lakes legislators can work together to secure substantial funding for the project."

In a news release issued tonight, Stupak pointed out other implications of WRDA:

************************* Asian Carp

The final WRDA conference report also instructs the Army Corps of Engineers to complete construction on a permanent barrier in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal to prevent Asian Carp and other invasive species from entering the Great Lakes.

The current barrier was meant only as a temporary solution and is badly in need of an upgrade.

"If Asian Carp enter the Great Lakes, they will decimate our fish populations and fundamentally alter the ecosystem of the lakes," Stupak said. "The legislation we passed would authorize completion of a permanent barrier, while also shoring up the existing barrier."

Ontonagon Projects

The conference report requires the Army Corps to study extending the Federal Navigation Channel in Ontonagon 1,000 feet upstream. The Village of Ontonagon requested this change after the Michigan Department of Transportation relocated the M-64 highway bridge to a new location.

"There is currently only space for one commercial carrier to unload coal in Ontonagon Harbor,” Stupak said. “Extending the harbor will allow additional shipping capacity and economic growth in the Ontonagon area."

Stupak said that the WRDA conference report also authorizes construction of a walkway on the east pier in Ontonagon.

Prior to an Army Corps of Engineers project in 1995, the City of Ontonagon constructed a walkway on the east pier using state and local funds.

However, it is believed that the 1995 Corps project caused severe wave action that destroyed the east pier walkway.

“The WRDA bill contains legislation to authorize a study of the damage and, following that study, authorizes repairs,” Stupak noted.

Au Sable River

The WRDA conference report authorizes the Corps to dredge a portion of the Au Sable River that is important to local businesses.

“Without dredging the Au Sable River, boaters would have trouble accessing the river,” Stupak said. “This negatively affects local marinas, restaurants and other businesses that rely on boating traffic for customers.”

Traverse City Harbor

Like the House-passed bill, the conference report authorizes the repair of Traverse City Harbor.

Northwestern Michigan College (NMC) and its Great Lakes Maritime Academy (GLMA) have begun the process of renovating the harbor at NMC’s Great Lakes Campus in Traverse City.

“Federal support for harbor repair would be a major boon to not only Traverse City, but to the surrounding area and to all of Michigan,” Stupak noted.

Menominee Harbor and River

Like the House-passed bill, the WRDA conference authorizes dredging at the mouth of the Menominee River to allow ships to traverse the waterway.

“Manufacturing, shipbuilding and transportation industries in the Menominee area need to move supplies and products safely in and out of the Menominee River,” Stupak said. “Dredging this harbor is vital to the economy of Menominee and the surrounding area.”

Click here to read the conclusion of Bart Stupak's news release