Are you outraged that $3.6 Billion from the Pentagon Budget is going to be diverted to pay for the border wall?
The news has been filled with headlines like this one from a CNN opinion piece “Trump is hurting the military for his own political benefit”. According to the September 3, 2019, DOD Briefing on Use of 2808 MILCON Funds for Construction of the Border Wall, $3.6 billion dollars from the military construction budget will be reallocated to help fund the border wall. I found myself pretty angry for a variety of reasons. One of the listed projects is near where I live affecting one of our military bases and the local economy. The second reason is that budgeting falls under Congress and I didn’t like the use of Executive Orders with President Obama and I don’t like this use with President Trump. It violates our constitution and the separation of powers between the Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branches of the government.
Background. (compiled from the Sept 3, DOD Briefing)
So how can this happen? The president declared a national emergency at the border between Mexico and the United States under the use of Title 10, U.S. Code, Section 2808. The Defense Department then evaluated whether military construction projects (the wall) on the border would support the use of Armed Forces deployed to the border. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph Dunford concurred that such projects support the use of armed forces. So after all the analysis, Secretary of Defense Esper determined these construction projects are necessary and that the DOD will take on 11 border barrier military construction projects on the border.
Next the DOD identified which construction projects could be deferred with the goal of minimizing the impact within the United States and its territories. They also did not include housing for both troops and families or those that were awarded for 2019. Approximately $1.8 billion will come from projects outside the U.S. and about $1.8 billion from with the U.S. and its territories.
According to a Military Times article, “Here’s everything the Pentagon is putting on hold to concentrate on building the border wall,” dated Sept. 4. It is quite a few. “In total, the list included 43 projects in 23 states ― two of which had been slated for cancellation ― along with 21 in three U.S. territories and another 63 in 20 partner nations abroad. Now, they are all delayed in favor of 11 new projects that will make up 175 miles of new or reinforced border barriers.”
Where the politics come in – now the DOD is going back to Congress to request these funds that were reallocated to the wall be returned to the Pentagon budget. In regards to the 63 projects occurring in partner nations, it seems the goal is to ask them to pay for the projects as part of President Trump’s plan to make allies pay a fair share of defense expenses.
Current headlines about money being pulled from the Defense Department to pay for the wall made me very angry. Some even stated that the military would be less safe because of the reduced funding. I found that many of these headlines are very inflammatory and really designed to elicit the response I had. After reviewing all the information I could find and going to the source (Department of Defense briefing about this issue) I realized that the Pentagon has worked to choose construction projects which will have the least impact if they are delayed and I don’t believe any directly affect the safety of our military service members. So, I am still angry that Pentagon money is still going to pay for the wall but it is not a damaging as the headlines would have you believe.
What do you think about this issue? When you see inflammatory headlines do you take them at face value or do you delve into the story a little deeper to find the facts?
Marguerite Cleveland is a freelance writer who specializes in human interest and travel stories. She is a military brat, a veteran and now a military spouse. Her military experience is vast as the daughter of a Navy man who served as an enlisted sailor and then Naval Officer. She served as an enlisted soldier in the reserves and on active duty, then as an Army Officer. She currently serves as a military spouse. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two sons. Visit her website www.PeggyWhereShouldIGo.com
Everyone forgets the purpose of the DOD. It is to defend the country by all means necessary and available. If illegal aliens are a threat to national security then action is needed. This writer is dead wrong. I am afraid her leftist west coast leanings are showing.
I agree with James comments.
Something had to be done slow the gang movement, Illegal immigration, and drugs into the U.S.. The wall won’t prevent all of this but it will stop the free for all from getting in. And this is a national security matter.
I believe that something had to be done, but lying to try and getting a wall that Republicans that had the Congress and the Senate for two years says a lot about Republicans that seen to only care about there Party over our Country and our Military, So Sad, So Sad…………….
I am a disabled veteran so, of course, I want the military to have all the funding it needs. However, we have to stop illegal immigration. We are in a war with the border and we cannot continue supporting illegals in this country. It is time to take care of our own. The military would cut any foolish spending and overpaying for vendors, wasting materials, buying new equipment when it isn’t actually needed, they might find they have enough money to take care of their needs. It brings to mind the millions of dollars spent on art for VA buildings. I’ve seen the waste first hand, quit crying. How about the seniors that have to live on less than a thousand dollars a month for everything they need including housing. Take a lesson from them on how to budget money
Congress wasn’t doing their job, so the CINC had to do what he had to do to get it done.
Well said James. I served for 23 years as a Marine. When the other side was in power, we had less ammunition to train with. Clinton shutdown bases. Barracks were unsatisfactory and there was no money to fix it, because Democrats chose not to fully fund the military. Anyone against wall being built has never seen first hand what illegal immigrants can do. No one is against immigration, we are 100% against ILLEGAL immigration.
Amen. Our country needs protection.
I think it is a shame that Congress allows the President to take money from military projects that would benefit our military families just so he can build a wall that authorities on the subject keep telling him is unnecessary and non beneficial. He went from telling us that Mexico would pay for the wall to this. I know from living on them, the facilities on a lot of military posts, bases and stations are old and outdated. When we need to be thanking our military members for their service and rewarding them for service to our country – the President does this. Shameful!
Nonsense!
We could use the money we were spending to rebuild Afghanistan and Iraq. National security is a must!!!
Have you been to Ft Campbell, Ft Leonard Wood, Ft Lewis or Ft Bragg lately. They are new and modern and updated.
What about all the money we are having to spend for food medical and housing for said illegals? I’m sorry but something has to give! Also, the fiscal yr 2020 budget is 50 billion larger than 2019. The wall will help defend our borders.
I am on UR side Cala. If the LIBS would do their JOB it would not B necessary. It is amazing to ME TT Schumer and peloshi were 4 the wall B 4 TRUMP got elected!!!
That man has no regard for the military. I hope they vote him out of office. He’s a liar and a thief.
Go back under your rock and wait for the light to come on.
And you a re a TOTAL IDIOT. The President of the United States is responsible to protecting and defending the United States. That includes by an invasion of illegals forcefully entering my country and if you are a True American than you would support what President Trump, who by the way is the best President this country has had in a very long time.
AMEN!!! LOCK HIM UP!!!!!!
You are absolutely correct. When living in New Jersey, I saw what Trump did to Atlantic City. He previously had several casinos there and now there are none. Why, he stiffed a lot of contractors who worked to rehab his buildings. He had his legal team drag the court proceedings so long that many ended up going out of business. If he did settle, he did it out of court, this way he could claim he didn’t do anything wrong. He has filed bankruptcy so many times that, U.S. banks would not lend him money. So he gets help from European sources. Didn’t he run on the premise that Mexico would pay for the WALL! People who have witnessed his lies and deceptions, know he’s famous for his book “The Art of the Steal”.
My personal feelings are that the funds aren’t being “siphoned from the defense department” but are being used to defend the US from a true invasion of illegals from who knows where. It would be different if these people really wanted to become US citizens but they just want to come here to “siphon” our good will and tax money and send it back to their homeland. If they want to come to our country then they should apply in their country to immigrate instead of just sneaking over the border.
Is this really the place to post Political Opinions? I really don’t think so.
I’m sick of the politics on here. I didn’t join for that.
Well Billy, apparently you do, because you did
The wall is an unnecessary expense and filtering DOD money for it is wrong. The other alternative would be for the govt. to have buses and planes available to ship illegal border crossers’ right back to Mexico as soon as they show up in the US. There should be no detention camps’ just a one way trip back home with a beverage and a sandwich or burrito to eat in transit and a Spanish translator to tell them to go through legal means to gain access to the US.
I am totally for the wall. It is a national emergency. I will pay a little more for my security. Congress should have given the money for the wall. They were all for it when the pervious Presidents talked about it. However now, they are using it as a weapon against the right. We all know they want all these illegal immigrants here to get their votes. Which if you know anything, in the coming years illegal immigrants will cost the United States more money then the cost of the wall.
Which if you know anything…. illegal immigrants don’t vote.
Build the wall – all those other military projects will get done in time because America will have more money to focus on something besides feeding, housing, educating, and providing medical care to illegal immigrants. I am not against legal immigration, by the way. I am glad that we have a President who cares about the American people, their safety and prosperity. Our military will not suffer in any way, because Trump will make sure that they have what they need (and yes, there is a huge difference between “needs” and “wants”).
It is ludicrous that the President has had to go this route. Congress has not done their job in protecting the sovereignty of our country in the wake of illegal drug trafficking, human trafficking, illegal aliens, and advantageous terrorists coming through the unsecured border. This is an issue of national security that the DoD funding is part of the solution, as it should be. I am good with this.
THE FIRST FUNDS TO BE TAKEN AWAY IS THE SALARIES OF THE WHITE HOUSE CABINET AND SENIOR STAFF.
PUT YOUR HEAD BACK ON YOUR SHOULDERS
Deconstruction of language is only useful to garden slugs. A military is not a department. Allocation of resources is unrelated to “siphoning.” There is no such thing as “pentagon money.” There is, however, a treasury that is funded by way of taxpayer dollars and bonds – and any shortfalls in government spending (i.e., overspending) is generally made up by way of loans from the private central bank, the Fed. So, no “pentagon money” was spent on anything b/c “pentagon money” doesn’t exist. However, there IS a cost (in USD) associated with a continuation of past efforts to assist an invasion as well as the to-date costs for same. And, the cost (in USD) of any construction project (e.g., a wall) can be estimated. It is not surprising that the article does not mention, for the sake of comparison, the cost (in USD) of “no action” (i.e., no wall and continued efforts to assist invasions) – given that the author thinks a military is a department, and that there is some currency known as “pentagon money.”
Your getting too technical for some, but I understand. Persuasion of opinions concealed with cumbersome words. Pretty typical of communist propaganda? And we wonder why history repeats itself. lol.
Take the Salary of the person who is sending the Veterans benefit earnings to cover the border wall.
They have more money than we do.
Um? I’m afraid I don’t understand your statement.
Umm no! Our military gets crap pay already! The people that want to build the stupid wall should be the ones to pay for it!
Military members get crap pay, as compared to what (a valid comparison would include benefits)?
It is an all volunteer military with clearly posted pay schedules (by law, by btw). If one feels it is crap pay, then let them not sign up!
BTW, the constitution enumerates very few requirement that those that govern are required to ensure are implemented and maintained. Security is one of them. But, I agree in the sense that people that want social programs for illegals should pay for them, themselves, e.g., education, food, legal representation, interpreters, medical care, punitive damages for crimes.
I am ticked off! I don’t believe all the crap about gangs and terrorist flooding over the border. I travel all over this country and so far no one has mentioned gangs or terrorist flooding in even in San Diego and Phoenix. Folks up in North Dakota complain about groups of illegals coming into their growing areas and taking jobs away from Americans. Same thing in Florida. No gangs just folks who want to work to make their dreams come true. We have a president who is pissing off most of the world so he should be building up the military because we might be needed soon unless he can cool the fires he’s been building.
And you a re a TOTAL IDIOT. The President of the United States is responsible to protecting and defending the United States. That includes by an invasion of illegals forcefully entering my country and if you are a True American than you would support what President Trump, who by the way is the best President this country has had in a very long time.
Whether you are for or against the wall is not the problem I see. The method used is Pandora’s box. There are 3 branches of govt for a reason. When one circumvents the other there are problems in balance. And don’t 4get that no party stays in power for long and the methods one uses when they are in power might be used by the other party once they are in power…can’t scream bloody murder then. Fight for what you want, but don’t break the system…it will come back to haunt you.
I feel that we need the wall. This prevents those who comes across the border to create havoc on our soil. I know it is impossible to block everyone but at least this is a start. Why should anyone come across our borders and stay and expect we should support them, I would welcome those that came across according to our immigration laws. My family history shows relatives from Germany and Ireland immigrated to the U.S. They waited their turn. We have been productive members of society. I resented illegals coming across the borders and expect us to give them the rights of a legimate citizen. We need to be more aware of those who comes across our borders. Not all of them are here to become good citizens. I commend President Trump for coming up a create way of finding the funds. I am sorry the military had to take a hit. But then as usual they have stepped up to the plate when so many could but don’t.
How many representatives of the government have spent vast somes of money on projects that go no where, But no one complains, We need to protect our borders. The world is not a safe place. Do no delude yourself in thinking we are safe. We are safe because we help make it safe.
I think taking DOD funds for the wall is disgraceful and weakens the military.
The illegals should have been controlled 50 years ago, but no politian had any “kahoonas” to address the problem. Along came Trump trying to clean up the mess and you can see how much support he’s getting from either party. If the Democratic House would have given him the 5 billion he would not have had to use the defense funds.Now it’s also has cost the tax payers over 200 billion so far for illegal aliens and that’s not even mentioning murders, drug trafficing, and other crimes caused by illegals.
I’m not preditious, I have family members from other countries, but they came to this country the legal way.
So you people who think taking the defense fund money is wrong, wake up this is war defending our border from smuglers, the cartel and desease carrying indviduals If you still have a beef, contact your politians and tell him/her to get in the fight to defend the USA.
“And who’s gonna pay for the wall?……. That’s right , MEXICO!”
THE PRESIDENT OF THE us\\US IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PROTECTING THE US AND ALL OF IT’S CITIZEN. WHEN A MASSIVE GROUP OF ILLEGAL ALIENS BREAK INTO MY COUNTRY I EXPECT THE PRESIDENT. TO DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO STOP THEM.. EVIDENTLY YOU MUST THINK IT IS OKAY FOR THOUSANDS OF ILLEGAL ALIENS CAN BREAK OUR LAWS. IF THE DUMOCRATS HAD PROVIDED FUNDS TO BUILD THE SOUTHERN BOARDER WALL IT WOULD NOT BE NECESSARY FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP TO TRANSFER FUNDS FROM VARIOUS SOURCES…SUGGEST YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IT IS COSTING ALL AMERICAN CITIZEN TAXPAYERS TO PROVIDE BENEFITS TO ILLEGAL ALIENS YOU MIGHT RETHINK YOUR REASONING…
Unfortunately the author hasn’t a clue what the Department of Defense stands for. Using money from within it self to build a barrier to prevent illegal personnel from entering our Sovereign Nation is well within its Realm to keep our country safe. The needs of of other things is secondary to the needs of a secured Nation. Unfortunately some spouses of our military do not understand that concept. This is not a place for political BS.
Some ”spouses of our military“ work for DoD, so I’d hope they’d know its purpose!
So, to answer the actual question: yes, the use of inflammatory language in headlines is irritating. Yet- we are all adults. And hopefully, we have all been educated (enough) to decipher a headline that is misleading or that uses hyperbole. I think we often take for granted the ability to influence our own government/media as U.S. citizens, as well as how much we are able to show our discontent without repercussion. I say this because in some other countries the media is censored and we wouldn’t have the choice of discussing how incorrect a headline could be- there’d be no “choice” in headlines. Likewise, in some other countries no one would care what a common, middle class citizen would think- so outrage against a headline/issue would be swept under the rug. Personally, I’d have to “delve into the facts,” using multiple sources, to get to an answer!
Great idea! That’s better than stationing troops along the border and it’s more cost effective too.
It’s time illegal entries on our southern border were controlled. Thank you POTUS Trump.
I agree with all the previous pro-wall comments. It’s absolutely necessary and has become a national security crisis. That’s the job of the military, is it not? And you can blame all this problem with funds on the Democrats in the House. They are willing to cause damage to any national cause, including security in order to hurt President Trump and the Republicans. And to you who say it’s sad, yeah it’s sad alright. It’s sad that some low-life politicians put their political agenda ahead of national security or anything else.
Wow when did this website sell out by undermining our Commander and Chief? The only reason Trump can do this, is because of a law Bill Clinton signed and the money was then allocated by Barak Obama. This is why Trump as one branch of the government can do this. Because the other branches approved years ago! Furthermore, there are plenty of statistics on how many illegals come in, how many (percentage wise) commit violent crimes compared to legal immigration, how much money is spent on illegals healthcare and other forms of aid, There is also documentation on how much these rates have dropped in areas with walls already. A little research, even from bias sites, provides enough info to do simple 5th grade math for those who care to see the truth. The wall will pay for itself in less than 1 year. With just a 10 year lifespan including maintenance, which is more than forgiving: the wall will put billions more back into the budget including defense, education, and healthcare. By not supporting the wall your allowing billions to bleed out costing not just American lives but the lives of those who depend on funds for humanitarian aid all over the world!
Spend the money on the wall. Personally, this topic has nothing to do with the Military Shopper.com website. You need to stay out of the politics and focus on food, MWR, and such. Please, do give me the sad excuse that Commissary, BX, and/or MWR will be effected by funds being shifted.
I think this whole wall business is a foolish farce placed before a horde of Americans willing to believe the lie that immigrants are the root of America’s problem. We know there is already a wall. We know that majority of illegal immigrants arrive by plane and just stay past their Visa allows. Why do we believe diverting funds from the military will change anything?
I’m sad that funds designated for the military is being spent on the wall but I fully support that allocation to building the border wall; keeping our country safe. It will mean less tax money being spent to fund food, clothing, housing, baby diapers, pregnancy and physical exams,(including providing glasses, dental, etc.) to determine any health issues AND the medications, etc. to heal their medical problems and supply any comfort needs they have that’s.being diverted to the new incoming illegal immigrants and NOT to military personnel. The military is still being well served under Trump – I don’t believe they will be suffering while the wall is built but they will benefit when the wall is completed and much illegal entry is halted. and military funds restored. I’m all for it!
I’m definitely for diverting funds now to build the wall and deter further illegal entry that heavily taxes us to provide and fix all their issues.. The military, under Trump, is being well served and they will continue to be so.