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Pentagon can't transfer funding to Trump's border wall, Democratic senators say [View all]
Source: Washington Post
Pentagon can’t transfer funding to Trump’s border wall, Democratic senators say
By Seung Min Kim April 2 at 6:13 PM
Two powerful Democratic senators asserted Monday that the Pentagon has no power to reroute federal funding to President Trump’s prized border wall, after Trump began privately pressuring the military to delegate money toward construction of the barrier he had repeatedly promised during his 2016 campaign.
Sens. Richard J. Durbin of Illinois and Jack Reed of Rhode Island wrote to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Monday, asking the Pentagon whether it believes it can transfer defense funding to Trump’s border wall. But the two Democrats made clear that they believe such a move would be illegal, while wasting money set aside for other, more pressing military needs.
“Such a controversial move could only be funded by cutting other vital priorities for our service members, mere weeks after the Department communicated its needs to the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee during omnibus appropriation negotiations,” Durbin and Reed wrote to Mattis.
They added that after reviewing appropriations law, “we conclude that the Department of Defense has no legal authority, with or without a reprogramming request, to use appropriated funds for the construction of a border wall.” The Pentagon secured about $700 billion in the spending package that Trump reluctantly signed into law last month.
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By Seung Min Kim April 2 at 6:13 PM
Two powerful Democratic senators asserted Monday that the Pentagon has no power to reroute federal funding to President Trump’s prized border wall, after Trump began privately pressuring the military to delegate money toward construction of the barrier he had repeatedly promised during his 2016 campaign.
Sens. Richard J. Durbin of Illinois and Jack Reed of Rhode Island wrote to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Monday, asking the Pentagon whether it believes it can transfer defense funding to Trump’s border wall. But the two Democrats made clear that they believe such a move would be illegal, while wasting money set aside for other, more pressing military needs.
“Such a controversial move could only be funded by cutting other vital priorities for our service members, mere weeks after the Department communicated its needs to the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee during omnibus appropriation negotiations,” Durbin and Reed wrote to Mattis.
They added that after reviewing appropriations law, “we conclude that the Department of Defense has no legal authority, with or without a reprogramming request, to use appropriated funds for the construction of a border wall.” The Pentagon secured about $700 billion in the spending package that Trump reluctantly signed into law last month.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/pentagon-cant-transfer-funding-to-trumps-border-wall-democratic-senators-say/2018/04/02/ecdb5fde-36b5-11e8-acd5-35eac230e514_story.html
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