Sep 17, 2019 - Politics & Policy

Pentagon halts 3 planned border projects over lack of funding

Orion Rummler

In this image, a helicopter flies over a border wall. — A Customs and Border Protection helicopter flies over the U.S.-Mexico border wall on April 5 in Mexicali, Mexico. Photo: Luis Boza/VIEWpress/Corbis via Getty Images

The Defense Department halted 3 planned "border barrier" construction projects on Sept. 13 after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) determined there were insufficient savings to move forward, per a court filing obtained by Politico this week.

The big picture: The USACE overestimated how much money would be available for these projects after the Pentagon redirected $2.5 billion in July for border wall construction. These projects would have been funded with money "left over" from the $2.5 billion, per Politico.

Green-lit in late August, the plans would have supplied "roughly 20 additional miles of border fence, roads, and lighting" in Arizona and California, Politico reports.
The USACE determined in August that "lower-than expected contract costs may yield sufficient savings" for these proposals, per the court filing.

Go deeper: Pentagon halts 127 projects to fund $3.6 billion of Trump's border wall

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Pentagon halts 3 planned border projects over lack of funding

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