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“he could have got construction started about 24 months a\go”

Congress had to fund it, and a lot of different people’s votes are needed.

A big Federal Program typically takes several years in analysis and documentation, before being added to the budget. There are legal requirements for formal cost estimates, that must pass muster and be certified by multiple organizations like the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) within the Executive Branch.

Beyond the explicit and time consuming requirements in law, there are lots of internal rules and policies that are also time consuming, to get the needed analyses completed and certified.

Politically, there is also a backroom “sausage-making” process, where various members negotiate to get some of the work in their districts, to their donors, or to directly benefit themselves or their families. Rounds of tradeoffs are typically made.

The President was able to get the first two years of funding added through (painful) exceptional means, while the analysis and justifications were completed (it was finally submitted in December 2018).

Even that earliest funding was late in coming however, because of the Congress’ late approval of the budget in those years. The Government’s fiscal year runs from 1 October to 30 September. Instead of having the FY2017 budget passed on time to start on October 1st, 2016, it was not passed until May 5th, 2017. The FY2018 budget was not passed until February 2019.

Federal Contracting is also restricted by many laws and rules. Initial Federal contracting lead time can be a few years, but one year is about normal. The initial wall contract, for the West side of the Port of Entry in Calexico California, was awarded at the end of February in 2018. Contractors normally get two to six months from their formal Notice to Proceed, to actually start work on construction projects.

Construction itself is normally a multi-year process, typically awarded as a Design-Build, or Design-Bid-Build contract. First Surveys and soil samples are conducted, blueprints are finalized, and certified by licensed civil engineers. Then the Contractor can either start construction (Design-Build), or a second competition is held for the actual construction (Design-Bid-Build).

When Congress authorizes money for construction, those funds are good for five years before expiring (if unspent), because that is the typical time frame required.

In addition to all of these onerous requirements and delays that are inherent to the funding, contracting and construction processes, the Wall Program faced almost unprecedented delays from the attacks by the Left. Several lawsuits had to proceed from District Court to the Circuit Court and to the Supreme Court to be resolved.

Lets face it - any tactical errors early in the program would have put the whole program strategically at risk.

Regardless of all of that, all of the construction funded so late in 2017 is now already completed, except for a tiny part of it, to add gates to old openings in the fence around Brownsville (which has been awarded on contract).

The 2017 work includes a new 14 mile Primary Barrier in San Diego, that can stop the kind of mob rush caravan tactics that we saw there last year. That barrier has already significantly reduced crossings there, and a 30 foot secondary barrier is half done behind that (with 2018 funding), which will pretty much nail that sector shut by January - the biggest city on the border.

The West side of the Port of Entry in Calexico is complete, reducing attacks on Border Patrol Officers by 85% (11 miles on the East side is now underway). 20 miles are complete West of El Paso, which had been a leading drug smuggling corridor, and 4 miles in downtown El Paso have closed what was a rather simple and convenient walk for illegals to enter the USA in just a few minutes.

The preparations required for contracting, exercising eminent domain, and other long lead time activities have been worked, so that now the execution of funds is faster than it was before.

The design has been finalized, the route has been detailed, segments prioritized and eminent domain actions have been prepared. The substantive lawsuits have been won. Standing contracts have been established, with pools of per-approved contractors prepared to rapidly bid on task orders, and get quickly to work.

All that is needed after the careful analysis and preparation, is the funding. President Trump delivered the big money bomb (through his emergency declaration) right on schedule, as the Program was ready to enter full scale deployment.

That is where we are now. The 40 miles from 2017 funding is complete, and the 80 miles from 2018 funding is underway in earnest. The 2019 funding, and the emergency funding, will build hundreds of miles worth of barrier - and it is being placed on contract and starting construction faster than in past years - the first of those projects are preparing to break ground this month and next. Material deliveries and site prep is already underway.

The biggest, hardest, most expensive and most important parts of the job are getting done, even if no money at all comes next year. The first 300-400 miles, including the bulk of the Rio Grande Valley, is the main battle in controlling illegal immigration. After that, every incremental mile starts getting easier, cheaper, and less important (Except for about 50 miles around Laredo, the last major city where barrier is really needed, and no announcement has yet been made).

I anticipate the President running circles around the Dems next year as well. If he comes through with anything near what he is asking for ($8.7 billion), he will have enough money to contract almost all the remaining planned barrier, in his first term.

This Administration took the long view of the whole program to secure the border, and control immigration, and has systematically, aggressively and successfully driven transformative progress, from its first week.

The technology programs deploying to the border, the changes made to remove welfare incentives from immigrants, to improve the ability to process and deport illegals, as well as new deals with Mexico and Guatemala, are all very powerful initiatives underway as well.

It is not easy. It required a lot of determined effort, and a lot of sophisticated expertise and strategizing, to make this kind of progress, in the face of such determined and well resourced opposition.