Pentagon diverts another $1.5 billion for border wall

[struggle4progress]

By Ryan Browne and Jamie Crawford, CNN
Updated 4:37 PM ET, Fri May 10, 2019

... "I won't be reprogramming any more money for the border wall," Shanahan said. "There was a billion and a half dollars that was reprogrammed, some of it did come from money we are underrunning or saving or whatever terminology you want to use from Afghanistan. But we have very smart people here in the department and we found ways to do this without having any impact on readiness."

Some of the diverted money will be taken from personnel accounts and an account for training and equipping Afghan security forces, according to a document provided to Congress and obtained by CNN.

The money will pay for "fence replacement on four additional projects in and around Tucson, AZ, and El Centro, TX, totaling 78.25 miles," Pentagon spokesman Tom Crosson told CNN.

The news comes as Shanahan has asked Congress for $1.8 billion in additional money for this fiscal year to help repair damage done to military installations by recent hurricanes ...

https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/10/politics/pentagon-trump-border-wall/index.html

[COL Mustard]

1. At Least We Know What a SECDEF Nomination Costs

Last edited Sun May 12, 2019, 02:23 AM - Edit history (1)

As a longtime Pentagon employee, I have to say this is disgusting. It's a blatant run around Congress and its Constitutional power of the purse. The FY20 budget is on the Hill being marked as we speak, and I hope Congress will reduce it by this exact amount.