Senate Democrats blasted the U.S. Department of Defense for its transfer of $1.5 billion to build part of a wall on the southwest border.
“Once again, the Department of Defense has ignored decades of precedent and cooperation with the Congress in carrying out a transfer of funds without regard to any consultation with the Appropriations Committee. We are dismayed that the Department has chosen to prioritize a political campaign promise over the disaster relief needs of our service members, given the finite reprogramming authority available,” Democratic senators on the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee and the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies wrote to Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan.
In addition to their concern that the Defense Department bypassed Congress, the senators are also concerned that this transfer comes at the expense of the readiness of the Armed Forces. In March, the Defense Department sent Congress a list of $10 billion worth of military construction projects that could be delayed or canceled to pay for President Trump’s border wall.
“Last week, the Secretary of the Air Force announced that cleanup operations at Tyndall Air Force Base were being impacted by a shortfall in funding,” the senators wrote. “We are dismayed that the Department has chosen to prioritize a political campaign promise over the disaster relief needs of our service members, given the finite reprogramming authority available. We remind you that we continue to work diligently on a supplemental appropriations bill that will provide relief to all Americans impacted by natural disasters, despite the fact that the President of the United States has requested no emergency funding to address the current needs for hurricane and flood relief.”
The letter was signed by U.S. Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jack Reed (D-RI), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Tom Udall (D-NM), Patty Murray (D-WA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Jon Tester (D-MT).