U.S. Sen. John Barrasso wants unused federal COVID-19 money to go toward finishing one of former President Donald Trump’s most prominent legacy projects — the southern border wall.
The project hasn’t received any significant construction updates since soon after President Joe Biden took office in 2021, but Barrasso wants to change that, introducing legislation Tuesday to use some of the excess pandemic money to finish building it.
“Border walls work,” Barrasso said in a Tuesday press release. “Before President Biden came into office, we were well on our way to a secure and safe southern border.”
Barrasso’s Build the Wall Act of 2024 would establish the Southern Border Wall Construction Fund and require the Department of Homeland Security use any unobligated Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) to construct and maintain physical barriers along the southern border of the United States.
“We must hold Democrats accountable for their open border policies that have created the worst border crisis in our nation’s history,” Barrasso said. “If they are serious about securing our border, they should have no issues voting for a policy that actually works and is already paid for.”
The Trump administration allocated $15 billion to build the wall, of which 458 miles was put up. According to U.S. News and World Report, most of the work was done in places where some kind of barrier already existed, but most of the preexisting structures were far less imposing than the new wall and included fencing and rudimentary technical barriers.
Part Of A Compromise
Barrasso introduced the bill Tuesday as an amendment to the Democrat-backed Border Security Act.
That legislation has been promoted by Democrats as a compromise on border security. Many Democrats have accused Republicans of "exploiting" the immigration crisis at the southern border rather than look for solutions to solve it. A bipartisan bill was defeated in February after Trump told Republicans to vote against it.
Although Biden halted construction of the wall when he took office, he did authorize building 20 miles of new fences along the U.S.-Mexico border last October as a result of a past allocation from Congress.
The Money
According to the federal government, as of September 2023, around $124 billion in SLFRF money remained. Wyoming has received $1.2 billion of this money, of which $596 million has been spent.
According to Taxpayers For Common Sense, Wyoming paid $22 million for its share of border barrier construction costs from 2007-2019.
During the 2024 legislative session, Wyoming legislators approved $750,000 to be used to reimburse Wyoming state agencies aiding Texas with its border security.
In March, Biden’s Department of the Treasury broadened the applicable uses of the money, saying "that qualifying recipients can use remaining funds on a broad range of uses to fund affordable housing serving very low-income families."
According to Fox News, Republicans sought to prevent the change last week, but were blocked in the Senate by Democrats, who hold the majority in that chamber.
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
