DoD shifts $Bs for border wall

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan announced May 10 the authorization of another $1.5B will be shifted from defense funding to building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. He told Fox News the funds are expected to go toward constructing 80 miles of “border barrier”. The money had been intended to support Afghan security forces and other DoD projects. The funds will have “minimal impact” on military readiness, he said. DoD notified Congress of the shift in funds May 10. Additionally, DoD chose 13 companies for the construction work on May 9: BFBC of Bozeman, Mont.; Texas Sterling Construction Co. of Houston; Bristol Construction Services of Anchorage, Alaska; Burgos Group of Albuquerque, N.M.; Gibraltar-Caddell JV of Montgomery, Ala.; Fisher Sand & Gravel of Dickinson, N.D.; Southwest Valley Constructors of Albuquerque, N.M.; Randy Kinder Excavating of Dexter, Mo.; Martin Brothers Construction of Sacramento, Calif.; SLSCO Ltd. of Galveston, Texas; Posillico Civil Inc. of Farmingdale, N.Y.; Coastal Environmental Group of Central Islip, N.Y.; and CJW JV of Santa Ana, Calif., will bid on various sections and elements of the project. "The migration flow and the resulting humanitarian crisis is rapidly overwhelming the ability of the federal government to respond," acting White House budget director Russ Vought said in the request. On May 9, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced the arrest of 98,977 undocumented immigrants in April – a 6.52 percent increase over March and a 157.89 percent increase over April 2018. (Source: UPI 05/09/19)