Posted on 09/16/2019 11:00:26 PM PDT by zeestephen
The Defense Department is no longer moving forward with three border barrier projects in California and Arizona, according to a court filing Monday. The move is a reversal of an earlier Pentagon authorization for about 20 miles of fencing, lighting and other border infrastructure that would have used $2.5 billion in funds redirected from a counter-drug fund.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
“Bottom Line...
How many miles of drug money fence completed?
Zero.”
Ann Coulter? Is that you?
Pretty sure they were not going to spend $2.5B on 20 miles of wall. I might be wrong, but probably not.
If a wall of 1000 to 2000 miles in length has been estimated as costing 20 billion dollars, wall cost per mile is of the order of 10 to 20 million per mile.
The project as quoted was 2.5 billion for 20 miles, which would be roughly 10 times as much per mile. Sure, there’s variation in cost depending on terrain, auxiliary features such as road and surveillance gear, but the state number sounds excessive relative to the overall average costs.
At the MSN site, after the article was a poll, I took it.
Results at the time:
What do you believe would have the biggest impact on reducing illegal immigration?
8% More Border Patrol officers
25% Better technology to monitor the border
34% A border wall
10% Restrictions on asylum
7% More immigration judges
14% Something else
2% No opinion
Precisely. They were ONLY authorized because the cost was deemed lower than normal.
Reallocate the funds to We-Build-the-Wall’s gofundme site and get 60 miles instead?
What’s the future cost of lives if this isn’t done?
There is NOTHING that will protect this country and its citizens more than a fence on the southern border.
Zeestephen is a whiny, attention starved troll. Responding to him is kind of like getting herpes....just when you thought the annoying bother went away back it comes.
He makes posts like this for the sole reason of getting someone to respond.
I only included him in this post as per FReeper norms.
$2.5b for 20 miles of wall?
I think you mistook the last 20 additional miles for the original authorizations.
The $2.5 billion from Department of Defense 10 U.S.C. § 284 Counter-Narcotics accounts was used for three rounds of project approvals.
1. First, $1 billion ($976 million) was transferred in April (https://www.thedailybeast.com/army-authorizes-use-of-dollar976m-of-counter-narcotics-funds-for-border-wall) to fund two projects - the 46 miles in New Mexico (which has been awarded. and is currently under construction), and an 11 mile Project in Yuma Sector (also now under construction).
2. Then, $1.5 billion was transferred in May (https://www.defensenews.com/smr/federal-budget/2019/05/13/us-air-force-nuclear-space-programs-take-hit-in-border-wall-reprogramming/) to fund two more projects - 63 miles in Arizona (Lukeville, Organ Pipe, Cabeza Prieta) and 15 miles in the El Centro Sector of California (Jacumba Wilderness). Both of those projects have also been awarded and are currently under construction
3. Finally, in August, DoD anoounced (and later cancelled) the 20 Miles (3 Projects) that you refer to. When the SecDef authorized the original four projects in April and May, they made sure that there would be enough money set aside to pay for the contracts. The final accepted bids were less than the conservatively high amounts that had been reserved, and additional money was left over. They tried to scramble in August to get more barrier built with it, by hurriedly designating three more small projects.
I believe that the cancellation was probably because they were just unable to get the money awarded on contract and obligated before the end of the fiscal year. That type of money (Operations and Maintenance, Army, or OMA) is one year money, which expires on 30 September if not obligated. They probably just re-programmed the money back toward other pressing DoD requirements, that were ready to obligate quickly. That kind of thing happens a lot as the end of the fiscal year nears.
One of those three Projects cancelled (North of the Morelos Dam in Yuma and around the Andrade Port of Entry) has been included among the 11 being funded with Military Construction (MILCON) money.
A total of 135 miles is funded, and currently being built, with DoD Counter-Narcotics funds. The use of these funds on those projects, was the subject of the Supreme Court's decision in July (case No. 19A60 Trump v. Sierra Club).
"How many miles of drug money fence completed? Zero."
Currently, at least four crews have been working concurrently on those projects, so I would conservatively estimate that at least two miles have been completed among them. Just one of the the three segments of the Arizona Project is scheduled to complete two miles by 1 October (around the Lukeville Port of Entry).
Next month, additional crews begin work on the other two segments of the Arizona Project, and another segment of the Yuma Project. I don't know how many crews are working on the New Mexico Project, but I anticipate that at least a second crew will be needed to work concurrently, for them to meet their delivery date of October 2020.
So just the Counter-Narcotics money ($2.5 billion) will be building a solid 2-3 miles of wall per week, by next month. Separately, both the bulk of the 2018 and all of the 2019 appropriations (~$2.8 billion) and the MILCON money ($3.6 billion) are just starting construction, with a bunch of new contract awards and groundbreakings over the next several months.
The construction activity that we had seen up until January of this year (2019), was just the effect of the $400 million in 2017 appropriations (40 miles). In January of 2020, over twenty times as much money will be working. This is full scale deployment.
This is also your wake up call, that it is no longer going to be reasonable to say that President Trump is doing nothing on the Border Wall. There is a tsunami of construction beginning, and we will have to update our assumptions to the new realities. It took a huge amount of effort and determined Presidential emphasis to get us to this point. In truth, it was never the case that President Trump was not really committed to building the border Wall - the results were just not as visible as they are now. By next year, it will be be dramatically obvious to all.
DoD Counter-Narcotics money now at work on the Border Wall:
Start of the Lukeville Segment of the Arizona Project (27 Aug) - the first panel of of 63 miles:
Start of the Yuma Project (5 Sep) - first 5 mile segment of 11 total miles:
Start of the New Mexico Project (23 Aug) - extending President Trump's earlier (FY17 funded) 20 mile segment, 46 miles further (MILCON money will add a further 13 miles more to this run):
Start of the El Centro CA Project (22 Aug):
The Commanding General of the US Army Corps of Engineers, LTG Todd Semonite, observers the first bollard panel raised for this 15 mile segment.
Stubborn things, those facts.
The trumps admin needs to post and ongoing progress report on the wall. The public could go to the web page and see current wall, replacement wall, new miles under way, new miles planned and start and projected end dates.
On the lighter side, it is amazing that three years into the current admin, there are still pot stirrers attempting to pull wool.
That may be, but the Pentagon has been known to pay preposterous, over market prices for things like hammers and toilet seats without batting an eyelash.
Not if Ann Coulter still posts here.
But really, President Trump has tried several different ways to get the wall built, and all using legal & constitutional methods. Perhaps you wish him to be a dictator?
Please see post 32 for the full status.
This was just a minor side deal, that didn’t work out. We are going full bore building barrier.
It is going to be glorious!
P.S. to Pearls Before Swine: You are correct that average costs are running about $10 to $20 million per mile, for this top of the line “Wall System” (Bollards, roads, lights, cameras, sensors and alarms).
We saw a low of $4 million per mile around the Santa Teresa Port of Entry in New Mexico (flat desert with existing road). The high will likely be some of the new FEMA Hurricane-rated levee wall in the Rio Grande Valley - over $20 million per mile. $10-20/mile is the norm, and it is the top of the line package - everything on the Border Patrol’s wish list.
Thanks for the great explanation in post 32, BeauBo.
Outstanding and thanks.
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