The U.S. Senate is expected to vote today on an override of President Bush’s veto of the water bill, following the House’s override vote on Tuesday. Iowa Congressman Leonard Boswell voted with the majority (361-54) for the override, calling it a "relief" to see the final tally. Boswell, a Democrat from Des Moines, says the water bill contains a host of important legislation for the nation and for Iowa.
Boswell says, "We haven’t had a water bill for a number of years and this is a very big concern as we think of a number of things, as we think about things going up and down the Mississippi River, all the cargo coming in and going out, and those type things and we think of a number of other things across our state and the Midwest, why, we needed to get this done." President Bush, in his veto, said the 23-billion dollar water bill was too expensive, but Boswell disagrees.
Boswell says, "When you think in terms of we’re spending 400-million dollars a day, 12-billion a month, for the war in Iraq, but we can’t add a little bit to different things like health care, we can’t add a little bit for things like agriculture, we can’t add a little bit to things like water resources, it’s pretty absurd." If the Senate also votes for the override, it would mark the first time Bush has lost a veto battle with Congress.
After a standing ovation, French President Nicolas Sarkozy addressed a joint session of Congress today about opening a new chapter between our countries. Congressman Leonard Boswell says he’s receptive to Sarkozy’s calls for the U.S. and France to form a closer relationship.
Boswell says: "We’ve gotta’ talk. We’ve gotta’ share together. There’s so many things in this world community that we live in. Some folks don’t want to accept that we’re in a world community, but we are." Sarkozy said improved relations between our nations should bring better cooperation to tackle an array of challenges, including Iran and peace in the Middle East. Boswell agrees, saying, the differences between nations need to be set aside.
He says: "If you think of the vast correspondence, what happens on money markets, the trade required, let something happen in Europe, in France or over in the Pacific rim, see how quick it hits Wall Street, how quick it hits the Chicago Board of Trade. It’s immediate. We’re in a world economy. I applaud his willingness to come and to share with us. I think that’s good."
The last time a French President addressed Congress, it was a much different reception. Many representatives and senators skipped the 1996 address by Jacques Chirac, as a demonstration against France’s testing of nuclear weapons in the South Pacific.