From In Homeland Security
After two weeks of heated negotiations and multiple stalls, negotiators in Congress appear to have reached a potential deal that would avoid another partial federal government shutdown on Feb. 15.
According to CNN, the details of this tentative agreement include $1.375 billion for border fencing and about 40,520 beds for housing border detainees.
Both represent significant compromises for Republicans and Democrats, and President Trump has stated he is not happy about the deal. This is likely because the dollar figure would allow for the construction of only 55 additional miles of border fencing instead of the 234 miles he asked for.
Financial Justification
Part of the reason that Democrats were so low to provide the full $5.7 billion Trump had requested for border fencing is that the White House never provided financial justification for the expenditure. Details were never provided with regards to exactly where the 234 miles of fence would be placed, how and by whom it would be constructed, and exactly how the money would be spent on fence construction and maintenance. In contrast, the current agreement stipulates that the new fencing cannot be made of concrete, and while the existing bollard-style fencing is expected, steel slats are still an available option.
According to McClatchy, Republicans are trying to make the deal sound sweeter by pointing out that the deal would allow the administration to build twice as much new fencing than was funded in last year’s budget. Also, all of the new 55 miles of fence construction and would be built along the Rio Grande Valley sector, which Border Patrol says is the highest priority on its strategic plan.
Continue reading here.