The Pentagon has officially informed Congress that it’s shifting up to $1 billion in appropriated funding to build a 57-mile fence and other projects
The Pentagon has officially informed Congress that it’s shifting up to $1 billion in appropriated funding to build a 57-mile fence and other projects at the southern U. S. border. The notice comes after President Trump took the rare step of declaring a national emergency to get more border security funding than Congress would allow.
Trump vetoed Congress’s attempt to reverse his emergency declaration earlier this month, allowing his administration to move ahead with controversial plans to fulfill his campaign promise to build a wall along the border with Mexico and clamp down on illegal immigration. The House is set to vote on a possible override of that veto Tuesday.
Acting Defense Secretary Patrick M. Shanahan told the U. S Army Corps of Engineers to begin using the money to support operations by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Customs and Border Patrol, the Department of Defense said.
The money will nearly double the $1.3 billion Congress authorized for border wall funding. Trump had requested $5.7 billion. A Pentagon statement about the move did not specify which part of its budget would yield the $1 billion for the project.
