A U.S. border patrol vehicle drives past a prototype for U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed wall demolished to make way for a new section of actual border fencing near San Diego, California, as seen from Tijuana, Mexico February 27, 2019. REUTERS/Jorge Duenes
The House Armed Services Committee has introduced a bill that would stop Trump from taking money away from military construction to pay for his wall.
Via The House Armed Services Committee Democrats:
House Armed Services Committee Democrats led by Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), HASC Chair Adam Smith (D-Wash.), and HASC Readiness Subcommittee Chair John Garamendi (D-Calif.) introduced a bill that will limit the Department of Defense’s authority to repurpose funds that were designated for military construction.
The bill would cap national emergency military construction authority at $250 million per emergency and tighten the ability to waive other provisions of law in carrying out the projects. The bill would only allow money that cannot be spent for its intended purpose to be used for an emergency, would require additional information in a congressional notification, and delay the start of construction until after a waiting period following the notification going to Congress.
Committee chairman Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) said, “I’ve said it before, in no uncertain terms, the Trump Administration’s repeated efforts to divert previously appropriated funds from the Department of Defense to finance his misguided border wall is an affront to military readiness. While Congress has for years granted the Department the flexibility to carry out military construction projects that support troops responding to a national emergency, such as after the attacks of September 11, 2001, the President’s threat to use military construction funding to build portions of the border wall would be an inappropriate use of that authority. The legislation introduced today will ensure the use of this emergency military construction authority is transparent, within a reasonable cost range, and most importantly, will only draw from sources of funding that do not hamper existing construction projects or military readiness. In short, this bill will provide the American people an understanding of how their tax dollars are being used in times of national emergency while safeguarding military readiness.”
Democrats haven’t forgotten about Trump’s national emergency, and they are taking steps to try to pass legislation that will cut off his theft from essential military construction programs to build his wall. Democrats aren’t going to let Trump take from the troops to build his wall. The national emergency fund repurposing will be headed to court, but the House is going to wait for a judge’s ruling before they take action to stop the illegal movement of appropriated funds.
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