Russ Feingold: “Mr. President, I will oppose the conference report on the Water Resources Development Act. For 7 years, I have worked…”

“Mr. President, I will oppose the conference report on the Water Resources Development Act. For 7 years, I have worked with Senator McCain and many of our colleagues on essential reforms of the Corps of Engineers and have long anticipated the day the Congress enacts meaningful reform. Unfortunately, today is not that day, and this is not the reform bill the country needs. After a decade of Government and independent reports calling for reforming the Corps and pointing out stunning flaws in Corps projects and project studies, and after the tragic failures of New Orleans' levees during Hurricane Katrina, the American people deserve meaningful reforms to ensure the projects the Corps builds are safe, appropriate, environmentally responsible, and fiscally sound. The urgency and necessity could not be clearer. Unfortunately, the conference report includes weak reforms. The Senate twice voted in support of strong reform language, when it passed WRDA bills earlier this year and last Congress. But the conference report we are about to vote on has been stripped of many important safeguards that would ensure accountability and prevent the Corps from manipulating the process. We have compromised enough over the years. We can no longer afford a system that favors wasteful projects over the needs of the American people.”