Pentagon chief says $1 billion of funding shifted to border wall

[webfact]

Pentagon chief says $1 billion of funding shifted to border wall

 

FILE PHOTO: Acting U.S. Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan speaks at a “Strategic National Security Space: FY2020 Budget and Policy Forum,” hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, U.S., March 20, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Defense shifted $1 billion (£757.5 million) to plan and build a 57-mile section of "pedestrian fencing", roads and lighting along the border between the United States and Mexico, the Pentagon chief said on Monday.

 

Last week, the Pentagon gave Congress a list that included $12.8 billion of construction projects for which it said funds could be redirected for construction along the U.S.-Mexico border.

 

U.S. President Donald Trump declared a national emergency last month in a bid to fund his promised border wall without congressional approval.

 

Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan said in a memo to Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen that the Department of Defense had the authority to support counter-narcotics activities near international boundaries.

 

Shanahan authorized the U.S Army Corps of Engineers to begin planning and executing the project that would involve building 57 miles of 18-foot-high fencing, constructing and improving roads, and installing lighting within the Yuma and El Paso sections of the U.S.-Mexico border.

 

(Reporting by Mike Stone; Editing by Paul Tait)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-03-26

[helpisgood]

Is this "pedestrian fencing," etc. part of the bill that Mexico will pay for?  I still haven't gotten that deed for the Brooklyn Bridge yet from Trump.  ????

 

 

[Lupatria]

Drumroll please! And the money goes to... "The US version of the GDR"

[mlmcleod]

If the Pentagon has so much money available to be shunted to the border wall why are they the only department getting a 6% raise in the Trump budget?

[Mac98]

2 hours ago, mlmcleod said:

If the Pentagon has so much money available to be shunted to the border wall why are they the only department getting a 6% raise in the Trump budget?

so they can pay more for the wall next year. That way Congress can vote for the wall but tell voters they backed the military.

 

[lannarebirth]

I'm guessing that the Acting Secretary of Defense from Boeing is in a "I'll scratch your back if you'll scratch ours" mode.

[quandow]

Does some form of barrier need to be built? Yes. Too many folks on the border, too many credible people on the front have said so. Is THIS the right way to go about it? Of COURSE not! Trump is a divider, he bludgeons his way into making enemies. Before this whole mess started, MORE than what he was asking had already been allocated. Then he pissed off the wrong people (shock!) and now this is the mess we're in. So SICK of this nonsense!

[Tropposurfer]

But he thinks Putin and Mr North Korea are good blokes ... and that's all that matters ... DAH ????

[metisdead]

Posts in violation of fair use violation have been removed. 

[Bluespunk]

On 3/26/2019 at 5:59 AM, webfact said:

The U.S. Department of Defense shifted $1 billion (£757.5 million) to plan and build a 57-mile section of "pedestrian fencing", roads and lighting along the border between the United States and Mexico, the Pentagon chief said on Monday.

There are worse and more pointless ways for the military to waste 1 billion dollars I suppose...

[roobaa01]

very good things for the us security start moving to keep illegals out as usual a bad day for dems since as usual they failed, this time to override mr.president's veto. yet another victory given on the verge to serve a second term. god bless america and his president donald trump

 

wbr

roobaa01

[Credo]

Marine Corps commandant says deploying troops to the border poses ‘unacceptable risk’

 

The commandant of the Marines has warned the Pentagon that deployments to the southwest border and funding transfers under the president's emergency declaration, among other unexpected demands, have posed “unacceptable risk to Marine Corps combat readiness and solvency.”

In two internal memos, Marine Corps Gen. Robert Neller said the “unplanned/unbudgeted” deployment along the border that President Trump ordered last fall, and shifts of other funds to support border security, had forced him to cancel or reduce planned military training in at least five countries, and delay urgent repairs at bases.

 

https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-marine-corps-border-national-emergency-20190321-story.html

[Credo]

14 hours ago, quandow said:

Does some form of barrier need to be built? Yes. Too many folks on the border, too many credible people on the front have said so. Is THIS the right way to go about it? Of COURSE not! Trump is a divider, he bludgeons his way into making enemies. Before this whole mess started, MORE than what he was asking had already been allocated. Then he pissed off the wrong people (shock!) and now this is the mess we're in. So SICK of this nonsense!

The areas that are in need of more fencing had been approved by Obama and Congress long before Trump entered the scene.  

[55Jay]

Good projects along the border, worth the effort and expense to tighten it up.  I'll be in San Dog in a few months, will take a ride down to the border areas and see how things are going.

[Langsuan Man]

9 hours ago, 55Jay said:

Good projects along the border, worth the effort and expense to tighten it up.  I'll be in San Dog in a few months, will take a ride down to the border areas and see how things are going.

Make sure you have your citizenship papers handy, your Thai tan might be mistaken for something else