The Department of Defense released a list of projects they are able to pull money from in order to fulfill the emergency declaration that President Donald Trump signed so the wall can be built on the U.S.-Mexico border.
“To make decisions about the use of military construction funds, the Joint Staff and [U.S. Northern Command] will examine a project list of specific border barrier construction projects provided by the Department of Homeland Security and will conduct a mission analysis on which border barrier projects would support the use of the armed forces,” the Pentagon said in a statement. “This analysis will help determine the border barrier projects the Department of Defense (DoD) might undertake and the level of funding required.”
The DOD made it clear that money will not be taken from military housing, barracks, or dormitory projects and the projects that are listed does not mean money will be taken from it.
Projects where money can be taken from include (in thousands):
- Fort Campbell, Vehicle Maintenance Shop $32,000
- U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Engineering Center $95,000
- Camp Pendleton, AAV-ACV Maintenance & Warehouse Facility $ 49,410
- Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Sewer Lift Station & Relief Sewer Line $ 73,200
- Dover Air Force Base, Aircraft Maintenance Hangar $39,000
- Joint Base Charleston, Fire & Rescue Station $17,000
The full list can be viewed here.
The Military Times reports based on the rules set by the DOD, there’s an estimated $4.3 billion in projects they can pull from.
Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, slammed Trump for pulling money from the DOD to build the wall.
Trump Admin finally releases its list of at-risk #milcon projects that could be put on the chopping block in order to divert billions to pay for Trump’s ineffective #borderwall. Take a look - military bases in your state could be negatively impacted.
— Senator Jack Reed (@SenJackReed) March 18, 2019
https://t.co/xJyDzjSITS
“What President Trump is doing is a slap in the face to our military that makes our border and the country less secure,” Reed said in a press release. “He is planning to take funds from real, effective operational priorities and needed projects and divert them to his vanity wall. That may help shore up his political base, but it could come at the expense of our military bases and the men and women of our Armed Forces who rely on them.”