Amid opposition, Trump makes low budget request for Mexico border wall

[corbe]

Amid opposition, Trump makes low budget request for Mexico border wall
  Tue May 23, 2017 | 3:45am EDT

By Julia Edwards Ainsley | WASHINGTON

President Donald Trump is asking Congress for $1.6 billion to begin building a wall along the border with Mexico, far short of the amount needed for a project sharply criticized by Democrats and even some conservative Republicans.

An internal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plan in February estimated the total cost for the wall at $21.6 billion but the White House's budget proposal for 2018, details of which were released on Monday, included a request for just $1.6 billion.

Two Republican aides in Congress said the modest request is an acknowledgement from the White House that full funding is not realistic given opposition from Freedom Caucus conservatives in the House of Representatives as well as Democrats in the House and the Senate.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-budget-wall-idUSKBN18J05H

[ABX]

A question I asked in the thread last night that we need to see in this bill. Currently there is money appropriated every year for the Secure Fence Act, $10.4 Billion per year for security of which about $2.5 Billion is for building and maintaining new or current barriers authorized under that.

If this money is replacing the appropriation for building the current various barriers under the Secure Fence Act, this is actually a cut to border security, not adding on to build the wall. If it isn't, this current funding rate would mean we are 20+ years off from having this built. $1 Billion is about what was used to repair about 90 miles last year.

In other words, as possibly predicted, the Great Wall of Trump may end up being taking credit for the Secure Fence Act that has been under construction for half a decade.

[GtHawk]

Trump: ‘Trust Me We Are Going To Build a Wall’

Just yesterday when I asked my grandson about doing his homework he told me "trust me" and I started looking into the air above me, he asked me what I was looking at and I told him that whenever someone says trust me, I always look up because I know sooner or later a great big pile of Shiite is gonna drop out of the sky.