Show Western Resources AD I I D Sustaining veto on water project funding Hy Helene C victory that the Ad- ministration scored when Congress sua- President Carter's veto of the 1979 funding bill for water projects a devastating blow to the pork Congressional courtesy and the system of funding water pro- That is the evaluation of Drent Washington of the Environmental Policy who led the environmental assault on the water project funding bill The President vetoed the billion bill mainly because of the water project funding in it on 5 and the House sustained his veto the same day by a vote of Western Resources Wrap-up asked Blackwelder why he thought the White House and the environmental groups operating under an umbrella organization called the Coalition for Water Project Review scored such a stunning victory over the entire Con- gressional leadership and water development Blackwelder cautioned that no legislative victory is ever but even way pro have been funded in the past will in vote he that Congress- must Uke more care in funding water projects on their not because they are supported by Congressmen popular with their Blackwelder recounted for how the victory was told the White House that it couldn't give only the bottom line cost of the and expect to win this It would have to do an exten- sive lobbying job on the They White House took that Anne began to bring in of business taxpayer conserva- tion and historical preservation to tell them what was wrong with the I don't know whether you saw it or but the White House prepared some good fact sheets on specific projects which it opposed as well as summary sheets on what was in the he told White House brieling material stressed that the Administration was not opposed to all water it in- eluded fact sheets on water projects that it supported in each Blackwelder These briefings arranged by Presidential Assistant Anne were going on when our press brief ing group talked with her on Then she stressed that the had problems with the 1979 public works funding bill because it contained 27 unbudgeted new starts and six pro- which the Administration claimed had been there was no full funding of the pro- as Carter had proposed in his water policy statement issued in no cost sharing along the lines proposed the personnel of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of and funding for the Water Resources Two factors stood out at the press briefing did not emphasize environmental concerns about the her stress was on economic And she insisted f 1 President had made no deter- at that time to veto the although all indications were that he asked Blackwelder about the second He said the same question had been raised by environmentalists who had been brought in to hear the White House against the disagreed with the White House on that We think that the staff should have the were paving the way for the he told |