U.S. congressmen requested documents and communications related to the Biden administration allegedly selling off “excess border wall materials.”
This follows reports that the Biden administration began quietly auctioning off hundreds of millions of dollars worth of unused parts from former President Donald Trump’s border wall last month.
Tem U.S. Congressmen on the Committee of Oversight and Accountability sent a letter to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Commanding General Scott Spellmon on Tuesday saying that they are investigating these reports and request to obtain documents and information to enable oversight over the Biden administration’s alleged actions.
“The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is investigating reports that the Biden Administration is selling off components that were intended to be used to construct a border barrier system,” the lawmakers said.
On the day of his inauguration, Biden signed a proclamation stopping the border wall construction despite a December 2020 law appropriating $1.375 million for constructing a barrier system along the southwest border.
Biden said at that time that the border wall is “a waste of money that diverts attention from genuine threats to our homeland security.”
This contradicts Biden’s previous position in support of the Secure Fence Act of 2006, when he said a border fence would prevent “tons” of drugs from entering the country.
According to the lawmakers, border walls are an essential part of securing the border, and they have proved to be a critical part in gaining operational control of the border by diverting or slowing illegal crossings of both people and contraband.
The congressmen said that instead of trying to enhance national border security by installing the barrier, these reports indicated that the Biden administration is instead selling off of border wall materials ready for installation, which have been sitting idle since Biden stopped construction.
“The Biden Administration appears to have learned no lessons from the last few years of chaos on the southwest border. Instead of endeavoring to enhance border security by reversing course and installing a border barrier system along the southwest border, reports indicate that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been working with the Defense Logistics Agency to sell off hundreds of millions of dollars in ‘excess border wall materials.’ These appear to be materials ready for installation that have been sitting idle since President Biden halted border wall construction on his first day in office,” the lawmakers said.
According to the letter, to assist the committee in its investigation of the Biden administration’s waste and abuse of construction materials procured to secure the southwest border, they request all documents and communications containing inventory or accounting of components or materials procured by the government for use in constructing, maintaining or extending the border barrier system.
They also request documents and communications regarding the disposition of components or materials for a purpose other than the border wall, all documents and communications between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and any other Department of Defense agency, as well as any other civilian U.S. Government Agency concerning the disposition of components intended for the border wall, and all documents and communications between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the White House concerning the disposition of components intended for the border wall.
The Congressmen signed onto the letter include Congressmen Tim Burchett (R-TN-02), James Comer (R-KY-01), Jake LaTurner (R-KS-02), Lauren Boebert (R-CO-03), Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL-13), Nick Langworthy (R-NY-23), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA-14), Russell Fry (R-SC-07), Chuck Edwards (R-NC-11), and Eric Burlison (R-MO-07).
The lawmakers requested the documents to be sent for their review as soon as possible but no later than September 26th.
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Hannah Poling is a lead reporter at The Ohio Star, The Star News Network, and The Tennessee Star. Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahPoling1. Email tips to [email protected]
