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Democratic Spin on Border Security Funds

By Lori Robertson

 

Democrats say the Trump administration is asking for more money for a border wall even though it has spent only 6 percent of the funds that Congress has appropriated for border security over the past two years. That’s misleading. About 60 percent has been awarded to contracts.

 

This talking point raises wonky aspects of the federal budget process. But Democrats gloss over the fact that most of the money has been obligated and most has been specifically awarded to contracts.

 

Andrew Meehan, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, told us that “CBP has obligated more than 90% of the funds provided in FY 2017 and 2018.” An “obligation” is “[a] definite commitment that creates a legal liability,” according to the Government Accountability Office. “An agency incurs an obligation, for example, when it places an order, signs a contract, awards a grant, purchases a service, or takes other actions that require the government to make payments to the public or from one government account to another,” GAO explains.

 

More specifically, “nearly 60% of those funds are obligated onto a contract – referred to as contract award – by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,” Meehan said. The expenditure occurs after the work is completed, “making expenditure an inaccurate measure of execution,” he said in an email to FactCheck.org.

The Democrats focus only on those actual expenditures. In an interview on ABC’s “This Week” on Dec. 23, Sen. Jeff Merkley said the president was “sitting on over $1 billion, 94 percent of what we sent him last year for border security he hasn’t bothered to spend. If you’re not going to spend nine out of 10 dollars on an issue, you obviously don’t care about it that much. This is politics, not policy.”

 

But the president wasn’t “sitting on” all of that money. Some actions had been taken to transfer funds to the Army Corps of Engineers and further to award contracts. When we asked Merkley’s office about that, spokeswoman Martina McLennan responded: “Of the $1.3 billion Congress appropriated in FY18, as of the latest data Congress received from the Administration on November 26th, only 6 percent has been ‘expended,’ a term which means the same as ‘spent.’ While the Administration argues they have signed contracts with companies for more of the funds, those contracts do not mean funds have been spent, and construction has not yet even started on any of the projects obligated for the $1.3 billion Congress appropriated in FY18, which ended in September.”

 

https://www.factcheck.org/2019/01/democratic-spin-on-border-security-funds/

 

 

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19 hours ago, Deranged Rhino said:

 

I want human trafficking combated by any means necessary. It's the key to taking back the world from the evil that's been in charge our whole lives. 

 

*****************************************

 

:lol: 

DwVilvXUwAAZC69.jpg

So a wall against Canada, too? 

 

This has nothing to do with human trafficking. Trump and his supporters could care less about that. ZERO 

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5 minutes ago, Tiberius said:

So a wall against Canada, too? 

 

This has nothing to do with human trafficking. Trump and his supporters could care less about that. ZERO 

 

You're incorrect here, Tibs. 

 

His actions from day one have shown he cares deeply about that issue, as do plenty of his supporters. But even if they didn't, the scourge is real and a wall will help combat the tide of human slaves being brought into this country from the south. There's no reason not to do it, other than wanting to deny Trump a victory. 

 

That's choosing politics over a solution to a very real problem.

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31 minutes ago, Deranged Rhino said:

 

You're incorrect here, Tibs. 

 

His actions from day one have shown he cares deeply about that issue, as do plenty of his supporters. But even if they didn't, the scourge is real and a wall will help combat the tide of human slaves being brought into this country from the south. There's no reason not to do it, other than wanting to deny Trump a victory. 

 

That's choosing politics over a solution to a very real problem.

No, he only cares about stoking fear and feeding his base. That's why he is telling so many lies. 

 

26 minutes ago, Deranged Rhino said:

 

********************

Thread

 

A GOP tweet? Any other sources for that? 

 

Love how "getting them home" is the priority. 

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Quote

 

Politico reports:

The House is scheduled to vote Wednesday on a Democratic bill designed to fund the IRS and several other agencies, the first of four bills Democrats hope will peel off Trump’s GOP support in the House. ... A senior House GOP aide said [House Minority Leader Kevin] McCarthy and his top lieutenants believe 15 to 25 Republicans will vote with Democrats this week, possibly even more.


 

 

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44 minutes ago, Deranged Rhino said:

 

It's from the House Judiciary committee official account.

 

Specifically for gatorman...

 

REMINDER: The House Judiciary committee is now run by Democrats, so this isn't a "Republican" tweet.

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2 hours ago, Deranged Rhino said:

 

You're incorrect here, Tibs. 

 

His actions from day one have shown he cares deeply about that issue, as do plenty of his supporters. But even if they didn't, the scourge is real and a wall will help combat the tide of human slaves being brought into this country from the south. There's no reason not to do it, other than wanting to deny Trump a victory. 

 

That's choosing politics over a solution to a very real problem.


Dems Pelosi, Shumer, Obama, Clinton all call for wall to be built.

 

GOP President calls for wall to be built.

 

#Orangemanbad

 

Even a simpleton like Tibs can see the hypocrisy...if he wants to. He chooses hypocrisy.

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1 hour ago, DC Tom said:

 

Specifically for gatorman...

 

REMINDER: The House Judiciary committee is now run by Democrats, so this isn't a "Republican" tweet.

 

Tiberius owned you.

 

And by his celebration of your post, also Foxx. 

 

Admit it: That smarts a little. 

Edited by BeginnersMind
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“Over the last two years, Congress has provided nearly $1.7 billion to build or replace fencing on the southern border, but the Administration has hardly spent any of that money, and the projects it has undertaken have ballooned in cost. So far, only six percent of those funds have been spent. Six.”

 Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), in a statement, Dec. 10, 2018

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9 minutes ago, Tiberius said:

“Over the last two years, Congress has provided nearly $1.7 billion to build or replace fencing on the southern border, but the Administration has hardly spent any of that money, and the projects it has undertaken have ballooned in cost. So far, only six percent of those funds have been spent. Six.”

 Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), in a statement, Dec. 10, 2018

 

Still a disingenuous lie, Tibs, as has already been pointed out by B-Man.

 

4 hours ago, B-Man said:

Democratic Spin on Border Security Funds

By Lori Robertson

 

Democrats say the Trump administration is asking for more money for a border wall even though it has spent only 6 percent of the funds that Congress has appropriated for border security over the past two years. That’s misleading. About 60 percent has been awarded to contracts.

 

This talking point raises wonky aspects of the federal budget process. But Democrats gloss over the fact that most of the money has been obligated and most has been specifically awarded to contracts.

 

Andrew Meehan, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, told us that “CBP has obligated more than 90% of the funds provided in FY 2017 and 2018.” An “obligation” is “[a] definite commitment that creates a legal liability,” according to the Government Accountability Office. “An agency incurs an obligation, for example, when it places an order, signs a contract, awards a grant, purchases a service, or takes other actions that require the government to make payments to the public or from one government account to another,” GAO explains.

 

More specifically, “nearly 60% of those funds are obligated onto a contract – referred to as contract award – by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,” Meehan said. The expenditure occurs after the work is completed, “making expenditure an inaccurate measure of execution,” he said in an email to FactCheck.org.

The Democrats focus only on those actual expenditures. In an interview on ABC’s “This Week” on Dec. 23, Sen. Jeff Merkley said the president was “sitting on over $1 billion, 94 percent of what we sent him last year for border security he hasn’t bothered to spend. If you’re not going to spend nine out of 10 dollars on an issue, you obviously don’t care about it that much. This is politics, not policy.”

 

But the president wasn’t “sitting on” all of that money. Some actions had been taken to transfer funds to the Army Corps of Engineers and further to award contracts. When we asked Merkley’s office about that, spokeswoman Martina McLennan responded: “Of the $1.3 billion Congress appropriated in FY18, as of the latest data Congress received from the Administration on November 26th, only 6 percent has been ‘expended,’ a term which means the same as ‘spent.’ While the Administration argues they have signed contracts with companies for more of the funds, those contracts do not mean funds have been spent, and construction has not yet even started on any of the projects obligated for the $1.3 billion Congress appropriated in FY18, which ended in September.”

 

https://www.factcheck.org/2019/01/democratic-spin-on-border-security-funds/

 

 

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Sorry D.R...........I got a look at the finished script.

 

Trump declares an emergency and seizes Pentagon funding for the wall; McConnell quickly passes Pelosi’s clean spending bills and re-opens the government; then the courts take over. If he wins there, great for him. If he loses, eh. Not his fault. Not congressional Republicans’ fault either. It’s those farking unelected judges who stuck it to him again. Win/win for everyone, especially the future Democratic president who’ll point back to this when he/she wants to seize Pentagon money for some garbage left-wing program

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5 hours ago, Tiberius said:

Politico reports:

The House is scheduled to vote Wednesday on a Democratic bill designed to fund the IRS and several other agencies, the first of four bills Democrats hope will peel off Trump’s GOP support in the House. ... A senior House GOP aide said [House Minority Leader Kevin] McCarthy and his top lieutenants believe 15 to 25 Republicans will vote with Democrats this week, possibly even more.

 

I vote to keep the IRS shut down indefinitely and go with a National Sales Tax instead.

Edited by reddogblitz
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