I read it before I posted my first Comment..
Since January 2017, Trump has completed 40 miles of “replacement” fence that was budgeted and started under Obama in 2016.
In October 2017, Trump budgeted and started another 80 miles of “replacement” fence.
As of September 2019, two years later, Trump has completed just 20 miles of his own “replacement” fence.
Within the last month, Trump has secured $3.6 billion of Pentagon funding to build just over 100 miles of completely “new” fencing in areas that have no fence at all.
Construction on the first 5 miles of that “new” fence began in Arizona about three weeks ago.
Trump's Bottom Line after 32 months....
60 miles (some built by Obama) of replacement fence.
Maybe 1 mile of "new" fence in a previously un-fenced area.
Let’s go down the list, and correct some facts.
“The money for this “replacement” fence was appropriated in 2017.”
No. The 2017 appropriations paid for 20 miles running West from El Paso (from the foot of Mount Cristo Rey). That segment has already been completed and delivered t the Government (accepted by the Contracting Officer as completed for final payment). The 46 mile segment referred to in this article will extend that further West. The money for this 46 miles comes from DoD Counter-Narcotics accounts, which were identified when the President declared the emergency in February. It is among the segments that the Supreme Court ruled in July could go frward, with that source of funding. Additionally, this month the Secretary of Defense has authorized a further 13 miles to extend that 46 mile mile run further West, far past the Columbus Port of Entry, to the corner of the “bootheel”. The $3.6 billion from Military Construction accounts (only possible with a Presidential declaration of emergency) will fund those 13 miles.
“Ann Coulter wanted to know why Trump had not even started to replace old fences two years after he had the money.”
The 2017 appropriations were not passed into Law until May 5, 2017 - over three months after President Trump took office. All 40 miles funded with the 2017 appropriations have already been completed and accepted by the Government (the 20 miles from El Paso, 14 miles of San Diego Primary Barrier, 2.25 miles in Calexico, and 4 miles downtown El Paso).
“As to “new” fences.... After 31 months in office, Trump finally broke ground for 5 miles (yes, FIVE miles) of “new” fence in Arizona in August 2019.”
32 more miles of “new” barrier has already been contracted in the Rio Grande Valley, and construction has begun there as well. Also, the Secondary Barrier in San Diego (on track to complete in January) includes 1 1/2 miles which were not covered by the old Secondary. Additionally, lots of assorted small segments of gaps will be filled by the DoD funded projects.
“Since January 2017, Trump has completed 40 miles of “replacement” fence that was budgeted and started under Obama in 2016.”
The last report by the Acting Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection (Mark Morgan) was 65 miles complete.
The Obama Administration did not request funding for border barrier in their budget, it was inserted by the Republican controlled House. Clearly, since the money was not released until May 2017, it did not start in 2016.
“In October 2017, Trump budgeted and started another 80 miles of “replacement” fence.”
The President released his 2018 budget on February 27, 2017, five weeks after taking office. It was submitted to Congress on 16 March, but the greatly reduced amount actually appropriated (for only 80 miles) was not received until after it was formally enacted on March 23, 2018. Normal contracting lead time for Federal construction projects is over a year, but all of the 2018 appropriations were awarded before the end of calendar year 2018 (except for a small amount to finish building gates in the old barrier around Brownsville - since awarded and under construction).
“As of September 2019, two years later, Trump has completed just 20 miles of his own “replacement” fence.”
All 65+ miles completed have been as a result of the Trump Administration, and Congressional Republicans. The Obama Administration did not include the DHS request in the President’s Budget that they submitted to Congress. The incoming Trump Administration coordinated to have the House add it in. The very first segment completed under President Trump (Calexico, CA), had been halted from contracting by the Obama Administration in 2009, and not re-activated until after President Trump took office.
Additionally, President Trump has acquired funding for a total of 529 miles (completed + awarded/underway + funded and in contracting) of “Wall System” construction, which includes the full suite of infrastructure upgrades to achieve full operational control of the border (bollards, roads, lights, cameras, sensors and alarms). These miles are going to DHS’ top priorities. Most areas of high traffic (border cities) already had some form of barrier, so that ineffective barrier had to be replaced to stop the biggest flows. No sense in wasting money on less effective rural barrier, just to claim it was “new”. The main exception is the Rio Grande Valley, where traffic is high, but over a hundred miles lack any physical barrier.
The highest volume trafficking corridors - The Rio Grande Valley, San Diego and Yuma (as well as others) will be closed with what he has already been funded (contracting lead times and construction takes about two years for this Program - much faster than the Federal norm of five). Over half of New Mexico’s border is already funded and in the pipeline, as well as almost half of Arizona’s.
“Within the last month, Trump has secured $3.6 billion of Pentagon funding to build just over 100 miles of completely “new” fencing in areas that have no fence at all.”
The $3.6 billion from Military Construction accounts was secured by its specific designation at the time of the President’s emergency declaration in February - immediately as the House finalized its appropriation without his requested wall funding - before the bill even reached his desk. That money has been used by the Secretary of Defense to approve 11 projects totaling 175 miles. Although there are many parts among those projects that will fill former gaps, I have not seen a solid number on how many of those will be so-called “new” miles. The commonly cited “100 new miles” is the Rio Grande Valley, which is mostly funded by appropriations (33 in 2018, 55 in 2019). The administration has indicated that funds from the Department of the Treasury’s asset forfeiture account (also specified at the time of the emergency declaration) will also be used in the Rio Grande Valley.
“Trump’s Bottom Line after 32 months...”
Is really the 529 miles. Once contracts are awarded and the money obligated, it is very difficult to stop. Obama was unable to stop the Bush era Secure Fence Act contracts that were already in place when he took office (they tried). Obama was able to put an immediate stop to new contracts being awarded (such as Calexico West), and did not spend the rest of the money appropriated for border barrier in FY 2009 on that purpose.
Additionally, it is quite likely that the Trump Administration will receive (or re-program) a significant amount of money next year, which it will be able to contract many more miles, even if a Democrat wins the Presidency in November. I anticipate that will likely be hundreds of additional miles, based on this year’s performance. The Program is now scaled up to where it can execute those levels of funding, and contractors have had time to scale up, to where they could complete it.
On 25 January 2015 (five days after taking office), President Trump issued Executive Order 13767, directing DHS to build the wall, and to develop a plan to achieve full operational control of the Southern Border. After much back and forth between the budget analysts in OMB and CBO, and after having addressed lots of Congressional criticisms, the Comprehensive Plan was finally accepted by Congress in December of 2018.
It recommends $25 billion over five years, to build about 1,100 miles of (carefully justified and prioritized) barrier, establish thousands of new full time positions, and funds several technology programs (to monitor every mile of the border - barrier or not).
The 529 miles already in the pipeline, is about half of the planned total. For next year, the Trump Administration has formally requested a total of $8.6 billion in the President’s budget (including $5 billion in direct appropriation through DHS) - which would seem to be enough to contract the rest of the planned barrier.
It is likely that Congress will only appropriate the approximately $1.4 billion that is included in the ten year budget baseline, but also likely that the Administration has contingency plans to get funding from other sources, if (when) Congress fails to deliver.
Jet-Ski sales are up in Mexico. ;)