Biden is wrong: Congress did not require more border wall construction | The Hill
Category: News & Politics
Via: texan1211 • last year • 13 commentsBy: Cesar Cuauhtemoc Garcia Hernandez (The Hill)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
by Cesar Cuauhtemoc Garcia Hernandez , opinion contributor - 10/18/23 8:30 AM ET
Not far from where I grew up in South Texas, Spanish moss drips from the trees at the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge like a bridal veil. At another nature preserve to the west, an observation tower lets hikers climb above those trees to peek into Mexico. West of that, near yet another of the region's sanctuaries for native plants and animals, the Biden administration says it will build almost 20 miles of new border wall, breaking a promise the president made on the campaign trail.
Contrary to what President Biden claims, federal law does not require that he build the border wall.
Biden says he doesn't want to build the wall and admits that it won't stop migrants. And yet the administration claims not to have a choice. "The money was appropriated for the border wall," the president told reporters. "I can't stop that." His secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, added, "The law requires the government to use these funds for this purpose."
They're wrong.
After a government-funding faceoff that shut down the federal government for 34 days in 2018 and 2019, Donald Trump signed a bill that included $1.4 billion for border barriers. That bill, signed in February 2019, prioritizes flashy designs like the concrete and steel bollards that then-President Trump liked over the high-tech digital surveillance techniques Democrats prefer.
But it said nothing about a requirement.
The law is clear that the money "shall be authorized." It doesn't say that the money must be spent. Later in 2019, first in June, then in July, Congress passed other bills to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), but neither of those laws touched border wall construction.
Just before the year ended, Congress passed yet another budget bill. It again set aside $1.4 billion for border wall construction. This time it specified that the money "shall be available only" for "construction of a barrier system along the southwest border."
If Biden truly thinks the border wall is misguided, or even if he just thinks he ought to keep the promise he made, his administration should put up a fight rather than blame Congress.
The administration could start by slow-walking compliance with the 2019 budget bills. Since Congress wants money spent on a border barrier system, it's not a stretch to say that it meant some of that money to be spent on projects that don't involve pouring more concrete and erecting steel pillars where currently there are none. In fact, DHS already defines a border barrier system to include levees, lights, roads, water drainage infrastructure and steel columns. Given the leeway Congress has given it, DHS could spend money on fixing the problems that construction of the existing wall creates.
Please read the rest at the link due to copyright.
No fascist nonsense.
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Joe just claimed that so some Democrats wouldn't get too mad at him authorizing a part of a wall he claimed would NEVER be built under his Presidency to placate sanctuary mayors and governors.
Once again, Joe Biden lied.
Come on, man.... Joe didn't claim federal law required him to build border barriers. He claimed the money was allocated by Congress for the construction of border barriers specifically and federal law prohibits its use for anything else. The DHS said this spot had an immediate need for barriers as it was where the most traffic was coming from. They specified a need, they had the money so they authorized it. Nothing more.
Quit using Op-Eds as a news source. No where does Biden, or Mayorkas say anything about a requirement to build any barriers. I really don't give a shit what people think about Biden, but don't play everyone as stupid. This op-ed was written for idiots. We can criticize how Biden and the DHS are handling immigration and border crossing without resorting to bald faced lying. We can also call Biden a hypocrite for saying one thing and doing another (It's been his MO on immigration since he took office). But this is just dumb.
Why Is Biden Building a New Border Wall? Here’s What We Know. - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
Your link is behind a paywall I can't read and your quote is NOT from Mayorkas.
So now even The Fishwrap of Record isn't an acceptable source!
I quoted directly from the article.
Google
Biden latest quotes on building the wall
This is the President's quote:
Where is the REQUIREMENT to use the money in that quote?
Jesus, you can't even be honest about what I posted above. I'm done [deleted]
" Mayorkas said the construction project was appropriated during the prior administration and the law requires the government to use the funds, with an announcement made earlier in the year. "We have repeatedly asked Congress to rescind this money but it has not done so and we are compelled to follow the law," he said."
Right there
I was 100% truthful in my comment, if you wish to dispute that, simply quote me saying something that isn't true.
Biden could have legally not spent the money and sent it back to the Treasury.
Weird?
Joe Biden Sold Off Border Wall Materials Weeks Before Approving New Wall
Joe Biden Sold Off Border Wall Materials Weeks Before Approving New Wall (msn.com)
So you have to use the money for what it is for, but then can sell the parts off for less than you spent for them?
I need to see some citation to law that this money didn't have to be spent. All I see is the claim. I don't see support for the claim.
For most of our history, presidents exercised the power of "impoundment." That is, they opted not to spend money that Congress had allocated. That power appears to have been removed under The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 . Pursuant to this law, if the president chooses not to spend money appropriated by Congress, he must notify Congress, which then can review the choice. Congress is not required to even hold a review, but if they do not agree with the president, the money must be spent.
If you think about it, the president refusing to spend money on something the Congress wants basically amounts to a line-item veto, which is a power the president does not have.