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Weiner writes: "As the shutdown drags on, President Trump's ideas about how to secure funding for his absurd border wall are becoming more and more villainous. His newest strategy? Using $13.9 billion in Army Corps to build a segment of the wall. That money would otherwise go to fund projects in Puerto Rico and other disaster areas."

A child moves through the border wall. (photo: Mario Tama/Getty)
A child moves through the border wall. (photo: Mario Tama/Getty)


Trump Considers Stealing Money From Puerto Rico Disaster Relief to Fund the Wall

By Sophie Weiner, Splinter News

11 January 19

 

s the shutdown drags on, President Trump’s ideas about how to secure funding for his absurd border wall are becoming more and more villainous. His newest strategy? Using $13.9 billion in Army Corps to build a segment of the wall, according to NBC. That money would otherwise go to fund projects in Puerto Rico and other disaster areas.

In order to accomplish this, Trump would have to issue an emergency declaration. Though the money was set aside for projects in Puerto Rico and elsewhere, the money hasn’t yet been distributed, officials told NBC.

From NBC:

Under the proposal, the officials said, Trump could dip into the $2.4 billion allocated to projects in California, including flood prevention and protection projects along the Yuba River Basin and the Folsom Dam, as well as the $2.5 billion set aside for reconstruction projects in Puerto Rico, which is still recovering from Hurricane Maria.

Who needs to prevent floods or help hurricane victims when you can build a giant useless wall?!

Senior Defense Department apparently discussed this horrendous proposal with Trump as he flew down to the border today. According to this plan, the Army Corps would build 315 miles of wall in 18 months, focusing on the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, San Diego and El Centro in California, and Yuma, AZ.

If Trump did attempt to make this plan happen, Democrats in Congress would likely propose a bill to block the allocation of funds.

“Hundreds of thousands of people will be at risk if there is a strong or wet winter in these flood areas and the protection projects haven’t been completed,” a Democratic staffer told NBC.

Rep. Nydia Velázquez, of New York, said that Democrats would fight “with every ounce of energy we have” to stop the project.

“It would be beyond appalling for the president to take money from places like Puerto Rico that have suffered enormous catastrophes, costing thousands of American citizens lives, in order to pay for Donald Trump’s foolish, offensive and hateful wall,” Velázquez told NBC. “Siphoning funding from real disasters to pay for a crisis manufactured by the president is wholly unacceptable and the American people won’t fall for it.”

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