Rep. Lauren Boebert FIRES BACK at President Donald Trump — Hopes Veto of “Expensive” Water Bill Isn’t About “POLITICAL RETALIATION”

Representative Lauren Boebert (R-CO) publicly blasted Donald Trump after the president vetoed legislation she sponsored to adjust federal payments for a water infrastructure project serving southeast Colorado.

On Tuesday, Trump vetoed the Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act (H.R. 131).

The bill, proposed by Boebert and Democrat Senators John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet, would modify repayment terms for Colorado’s Arkansas Valley Conduit (AVC) water project, eliminating interest payments and extending the repayment period to 75-100 years to make clean water accessible for ~50,000 rural residents by bringing water from Pueblo Reservoir.

The AVC is the final piece of the 1962 Fryingpan-Arkansas Project, designed to bring water from the Rocky Mountains to the Arkansas River Valley.

It was delayed for decades because local entities couldn’t afford the original federal repayment terms.

The estimated cost has risen significantly, exceeding $1.3 billion.

The congresswoman raised the possibility that the veto may have been payback for joining Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Thomas Massie, along with Democrats, to force the Epstein Files Transparency Act to the House floor.

Boebert told 9News:

“President Trump decided to veto a completely non-controversial, bipartisan bill that passed both the House and Senate unanimously. Why?

Because nothing says “America First” like denying clean drinking water to 50,000 people in Southeast Colorado, many of whom enthusiastically voted for him in all three elections.

I must have missed the rally where he stood in Colorado and promised to personally derail critical water infrastructure projects. My bad, I thought the campaign was about lowering costs and cutting red tape.

But hey, if this administration wants to make its legacy blocking projects that deliver water to rural Americans; that’s on them.

I’m going to continue fighting for Colorado and standing up for our rural communities, our farmers, and every family that deserves safe, reliable drinking water without decades more delay.

And I sincerely hope this veto has nothing to do with political retaliation for calling out corruption and demanding accountability. Americans deserve leadership that puts people over politics.

This is NOT the last Southeast Colorado will hear from me on this critical infrastructure project.”

The pipeline project is in GOP Rep Lauren Boebert’s district. Boebert recently challenged Trump to force the release of the Epstein files. Boebert has issued a blistering statement reading, in part, “I sincerely hope this veto has nothing to do with political retribution.” pic.twitter.com/cWjOg9RkFd

— Kyle Clark (@KyleClark) December 31, 2025

In defending the veto, the White House argued the legislation would shift too much of the financial burden onto federal taxpayers for what it called a state and local project.

The administration noted the pipeline was authorized under the Omnibus Public Land Management Act signed into law by Barack Obama in 2009.

The White House said in a statement:

“The Arkansas Valley Conduit (AVC) is a water pipeline currently being built to provide municipal and industrial water to communities in southeastern Colorado.  It was originally authorized as part of the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project in a bill signed by President Kennedy in 1962.

For decades it was unbuilt, largely because the AVC was economically unviable.  Under the original plan, the costs of the project were to be initially funded by the Federal Government, but repaid by local users, with interest, over a 50-year period following completion of construction.  But participants were unable to comply with that repayment obligation.

In 2009, President Obama signed the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, which not only reduced the repayment obligation from 100 percent to 35 percent but also provided that miscellaneous revenues from the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project at large would count towards the AVC cost share.

Even then, however, construction did not begin until 14 years later, after the State of Colorado authorized $100 million in loans and grants for the project.

The current bill would now have the Federal Government extend the repayment period (on the already-reduced repayment requirement) for an additional 25 years, creating a 75-year repayment period.  The bill would also cut the interest rate in half.

More than $249 million has already been spent on the AVC, and total costs are estimated to be $1.3 billion.  H.R. 131 would continue the failed policies of the past by forcing Federal taxpayers to bear even more of the massive costs of a local water project — a local water project that, as initially conceived, was supposed to be paid for by the localities using it.

Enough is enough.  My Administration is committed to preventing American taxpayers from funding expensive and unreliable policies.  Ending the massive cost of taxpayer handouts and restoring fiscal sanity is vital to economic growth and the fiscal health of the Nation.

For these reasons, I cannot support the Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act.  Therefore, it is my duty to return H.R. 131 to the House of Representatives without my approval.”

According to 9News, Boebert said she has already spoken with Speaker Johnson about pursuing an override vote or attaching the measure to other legislation.

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