Drowning America: McCain and Bush Blocked Funding for the Des Moines Levees

As the flood waters recede in the Midwest, it becomes increasingly clear that this was yet ANOTHER preventable disaster that the Republicans let happen. McCain is one of many Republicans who fought tooth and nail to prevent flood control measures in the Midwest.

First, some general background. On June 8th, 2008, NPR ran a report on the decline of America's flood control dams (you can listen with Openplayer, I think). There has been a jump of 33% in the number of dams that are considered unsafe. Consider that as you ponder the impact of these floods.

Now, more specifically, the Des Moines Register carried a piece on how Republicans, despite warnings from 1993 on, refused in 2007 to fund a much-needed upgrade to the levees protecting Des Moines. Many other similar upgrades were part of the same bill. McCain fiercely opposed the bill and Bush eventually vetoed it when Democrats passed it. From the Des Moines Register:

Republican presidential candidate John McCain opposed legislation last year that included money for flood control in Des Moines, which shows he is wrong to push for reforms to the congressional earmark system, a Democratic lawmaker charged Thursday.

State Sen. Jack Hatch of Des Moines said the earmarked money was needed to relieve water problems on the city's north side, which were magnified over the weekend when a levee break forced an evacuation of the Birdland area and ruined several dozen homes and businesses...

Outdated north-side levees were identified as a weak spot in the city's flood-control system as far back as 1993. The Army Corps of Engineers was granted approval to replace them, but Congress has not set aside the money needed for the project...

Hatch said members of Iowa's congressional delegation pushed to include the earmark in the massive Water Resources Development Act of 2007. It included $6.9 million for work along the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers...

President Bush eventually vetoed the bill, which authorized more than 900 navigation, flood-control and environmental projects across the country. A report on the bill said the Des Moines metropolitan area suffered more than $152 million in flood damage in 1993.

Republicans play politics with vital American infrastructure. The floods in the Midwest, the failure of the New Orleans levees, and the failure of Minnesota bridges are all just the tip of the ice berg. Failing infrastructure will haunt us for decades if we don't start rebuilding what the Republicans have neglected.

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