The importance of completing the Border wall is twofold. Of course, it serves as a necessary measure to protect our national security; but taxpayers have another, more pressing reason to demand its completion – their wallet. Without solid border protection in place, citizens must bear the burden of high taxes for avoidable expenses.
The Department of Defense is asking for major problems, for their blatant miss-use of funds, as it was recently reported that the department is spending $130,000 a day on border wall materials that have since been put into storage.
Daily Wire reports, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) informed the Senate Armed Services Committee that the cancellation of border wall contracts by the Biden administration in 2021 “left a variety of excess materials” and “total costs to store, maintain, and secure all the materials across all sites is estimated to be approximately $130,000 per day.”
According to the USACE, some of the excess materials disposed of include security cameras, overhead lights, and electrical and stormwater materials. Approximately 61% of the non-bollard panel materials have been transferred to other government agencies, while 4% have been disposed of through the disposal process at DLA [Defense Logistics Agency]. It is estimated that these materials are worth approximately $300 million. As of now, no cost estimates have been finalized for the government until audits are completed and negotiations with contractors are concluded.”
During his campaign for president in 2016, Donald Trump prioritized building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. During his four years in office, Trump’s administration appropriated about $15 billion to build an estimated 458 miles of the barrier.
On his first day as president, Biden halted the construction project.
Instead of states like Texas and Arizona being issued that material for the wall they were forced to find temporary solutions.
In a letter sent to a top DoD official this week, Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee, led by Roger Wicker (R-MS), they expressed concern that the Department of Defense is paying private landowners to store border wall materials procured under the Trump administration instead of fortifying the southern border with those materials.”
GOP senators called on the DoD to “pursue all possible avenues to sponsor or endorse the reuse of excess Department of Defense property, including further transfer to states.”
Another sign of government wasteful spending in hard times too. While Americans struggle to feed their families, the government is spending triple the average American household salaries to house border material that could be put to good use. It makes you wonder, what else is this Administration doing that needs auditing to curb this kind of spending?
Let’s continue this conversation, in the comments below.
