I could just spit!(long)

[rie'smom]

Bush is trying to block legislation that would protect south Louisiana from hurricane induced flooding.The bill, called the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2007, fully authorizes the long-awaited system of levees, floodgates and locks that would protect an estimated 120,000 people and 1,700 square miles in Lafourche and Terrebonne Parishes.
In the 109th Congress, Rep. Melancon tried to get authorization for Morganza, (WRDA) this time in a stand-alone piece of legislation he introduced with Rep. Richard Baker and Senator Mary Landrieu. While the bill quickly passed the House, it was blocked in the Senate when Senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) placed a procedural "hold" on the bill, calling it "pork-barrel" spending.
Pork barrel spending???? Hello,is this guy stupid? Did he not see the havoc Katrina and Rita wrought? We were the narrow sliver of Louisiana that missed the brunt of the storms but we've been hit and hit hard in the past. Would the idiots in Washington prefer we lose a few thousand lives before they act? Do they need another photo op when another disaster strikes?
Bridges to nowhere,dead end roads in the middle of the desert-these are pork barrel projects. Levees,locks,and floodgates to protect human lives are not pork barrel.

 

[Alicnwondrln]

whats in the bill that the GOP is blocking it?

 

[rie'smom]

It's a comprehensive water projects bill. The part dealing with the locks,etc. pertaining to south Louisiana is what Bush,in his draft of The White House's position paper, called a Statement of Administration Policy, has not been finalized yet, but the draft clearly requests that Congress remove the Morganza project from WRDA.

 

[bookgirl]

Coburn is a republican from Oklahoma (I didn't vote for him) but his huge pet peeve is spending without funding (you know the writing a check that your kids will pay for thing). He ran on a platform of not increasing the debt and on open acess to spending records.

He is a pain in the keister but he really believes he is doing what is best. I'm sorry he's causeing a problem, unfortunatly he is relentless (even the repubs dislike him half the time). Once he's decided to take a stand he stands. Hope they can work it out, I know LA really needs to update those water systems.