Federal Spending Bill Includes Funds For New Border Blockades, Towers, Roads
A massive $1 trillion spending bill that will keep the U.S. government funded for the rest of the fiscal year includes a boost to Homeland Security operations, including new border infrastructure.
Homeland Security would get $42 billion in discretionary spending, a boost of about $1 billion from last year. Democrats have said none of the money is going toward President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall. But new border blockades are in the budget breakdown.
Those include $146 million to replace vehicle barriers with pedestrian fencing in what it calls 20 miles of "high priority" areas, $146 million to replace current pedestrian fencing for another 20 miles, 35 gates for about $49 million, another $77 million for 26 miles of patrol roads, and 18 remote video surveillance towers in the Rio Grande and around the Border Patrol’s Laredo sector.
Next up for the spending package: consideration before Congress.
