Defense Secretary Esper Approves Use Of $3.6 Billion In Funds For Border Wall

Mike Norris, Co-Editor, The American Dossier

On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper began notifying lawmakers of the Department’s plan to divert $3.6 billion in funding toward building a wall on the southwestern border. In a letter sent to members of Congress, Esper identified 11 projects that the money would go toward, including 175 miles of wall construction.

Kenneth Rapuano, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Global Security, told reporters at the Pentagon that the construction would be located in “… a combination of areas of where there was no barrier previously and areas where we’re replacing existing, older, less capable barrier.” The projects will take place in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, with the largest amount of new fencing, approximately 52 miles, designated for Laredo, Texas, along the Rio Grande.

The funds are being shifted from the Pentagon's 2019 fiscal year budget, which was approved earlier this year and runs through Sept. 30. Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman told reporters the money would not be taken from “family housing, barracks or dormitory projects.”

The Army Corps of Engineers is now beginning the contracting process for construction companies to bid on building barriers, both new and refurbished, along the border. Construction could begin within approximately 100 days and would likely start with a barrier wall on the Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range in Arizona.

Esper’s announcement comes almost seven months after President Trump declared a national emergency, a move the President said he was forced to make in light of the “invasion of our country with drugs, with human traffickers, all types of criminals and gangs.”

Despite Trump’s overtures, Congressional leadership only allocated $1.375 billion for border security in its $328 billion spending bill, enough to build approximately 55 miles of wall. Frustrated with the lack of Congressional funding, the President took to the Rose Garden to announce a national emergency.

At the time of his announcement, the President stated that he was aware his emergency declaration would face numerous challenges, including a court fight. He predicted the matter would go all the way to the Supreme Court but forecast ultimate victory.

Despite the challenges, in July the Supreme Court approved Trump’s plan, ruling that the President could use Department of Defense (“DOD”) funding for border wall construction.

Earlier this year, the DOD allocated $2.5 billion from a drug interdiction fund to build approximately 150 miles of border wall. The Army Corps of Engineers awarded the final 20 miles worth of those construction contracts last week.

Additionally, the Department of Defense announced that due to “lower-than-expected contract costs” it will be able to construct an additional 20 miles of border fence, roads, and lighting in Arizona and California with the funding received from Congress earlier in the year.

A senior administration official told reporters that the President’s ultimate goal is to repair or build barriers along at least 234 miles of the border.