Posted on 02/13/2020 11:30:29 AM PST by BeauBo
The Pentagon is moving $3.8 billion from various weapons programs such as the F-35 fighter jet to pay for President Trumps southern border wall, according to a notice sent to Congress on Thursday (13 Feb 2020)...
Congress twice voted to overturn Trump's emergency declaration, which allowed him to reprogram defense funds for the wall, but were unable to override his vetoes.
The money being reprogrammed Thursday is being taken under a different executive authority that allows counter-drug funds to be used on the wall.
The notice says that $2.2 billion from the Pentagons base fiscal 2020 budget and $1.6 billion from a war fund known as the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) account will be transferred to the Pentagons counter-drug fund, which will then be used on the wall.
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
Just today's transfer, is more money than the President received from Congress for the wall in 2017, 2018 and 2019 combined. And it is only a part of what will be hitting the street this year.
We are off to the races with a massive Border Wall building program.
“...account will be transferred to the Pentagons counter-drug fund...”
Sounds perfectly appropriate to me considering the wall will do more to “counter” drugs entering this country than just about anything else they could spend it on.
Stick it Congress.
Add it to the winning pile
A key obligation of the DoD is to secure our borders. DoD should be spending a lot more than this, and, there should be troops constantly on patrol all along the border. Mine fields are also absolutely appropriate in key places.
“...Congress twice voted to overturn Trump’s emergency declaration, which allowed him to reprogram defense funds for the wall, but were unable to override his vetoes....”
Another small example of how Congress DOES NOT CARE about the will of the electorate.
“DoD should be spending a lot more than this, and, there should be troops constantly on patrol all along the border.”
They are, and there are.
Minefields however, would likely be a war crime under existing treaties. (Unarmed civilian non-combatants)
We are on the cusp of having robotic capability that will be able to patrol and interdict, more reliably than a minefield could deter - 5- 10 years for fielding.
Backward planning, it will take a few years prior to lay in the good infrastructure for them to operate - barrier, roads, power, sensors and communications.
“”””””Mine fields are also absolutely appropriate in key places.””””””””””””””””
Snakes and sharks with frikken “lasers”.
Whatever “barriers” are put down. There has to be the political will to man, patrol & interdict. If that doesn’t happen or happens intermittently it will end up as all the other “Walls” did in history e.g., Hadrian’s Wall, The Great Wall, etc.
FYI, there is already over a 100 miles of walls built, and numerous projects in process as I write this. More contracts/bids are being reviewed. Plus, it's amazing that Pres. Trump got Mexico to put troops on their southern border, and contain the phony asylum seekers in Mexico. Many are now self deporting back to their countries of origin. Other are taking up Mexico's offer of asylum.
I have never seen in my life a President keep so many promises. I've been saying for years that we need an accomplished businessman in the WH and not another politician.
“Congress twice voted to overturn Trumps emergency declaration, which allowed him to reprogram defense funds for the wall, but were unable to override his vetoes”
That is a great succinct talking point for Pres. Trump when the issue comes up in the general debates. I’m sure he will include the decrease in illegals with the current wall and the agreement with Mexico. I don’t see how any dim/socialist nominee can argue this success. All they got is NO WALLS or WALLS ARE RACIST.
“””””I have never seen in my life a President keep so many promises. “””””””””””
I have been watching politics for many years. I have never seen anyone take so much constant heat yet still keep plugging along to get his agenda done.
He is fighting the democrats, 95% of the media and a bunch of republicans yet he keeps winning.
I remember being told that Mexico was going to pay for this wall, or at least part of it. Is the new trade agreement somehow going to provide the money from them for Trump to keep that promise?
Oh the ‘huge manatees’.
It never gets old...
I don’t know but I can tell you this. When Mexico put their own troops on their southern border to stop entry into their country from Guatemala and additional troops on the northern with us, the result was an enormous drop in illegals entering our country.
Less illegals means less money spent on the them and as they say, a penny saved is a penny earned.
“Is the new trade agreement (USMCA) somehow going to provide the money from them for Trump to keep that promise?” (that Mexico will pay for the wall)
Only indirectly.
US businesses will grow more, providing more tax revenue, as well as more jobs, which in turn produce more payroll tax revenue.
Reducing benefits to illegals from Mexico, can easily pay for the wall (~$20 billion) many times over. Such benefits are often partially remitted to family back in Mexico (remittances to Mexico from the USA are Mexico’ second biggest source of foreign exchange, after oil/gas sales, and before the automotive industry).
Additionally, the Mexican Government is coughing up funds from their own budget for many thousand new full time Military (para-military, under Military command) positions, dedicated to new immigrant control operations- which have been hugely effective.
So the Nation of Mexico will cough up greater value to the Nation of the USA, that will more than make up for the cost of the wall, but the Government of Mexico will never cut a direct check to the Government of the USA for the wall.
Why doesn’t the money come from entitlements as opposed to national security?
Way to go President Trump this is such an important thing it is a physical testament to a great president keeping faith with the American people and he did it in spite of Congress. The wall will remind the American people the president kept faith and his word with the nation. He will have taken a significant step to permanently solve a problem this nation has been facing for decades.the wall will force all the nations South of the border to confront their broken systems and they can’t offload their social obligations on to the United States of America.there are so many positives that will come out of having this wall it’s just amazing he has to pull teeth to get the funding he needs to protect this nation but he’s doing it and the American people see it
Becasue border protection is national security job 1?
How about these, on towers spaced about a mile apart, and set on radar control, with about 10,000 rounds each:
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