Tapping California, Puerto Rico Aid for Wall Sparks Furor
The Trump administration is considering diverting money Congress earmarked for disaster aid after a series of hurricanes and wildfires to pay for a wall on the nation’s southern border, an idea that drew a swift rebuke from lawmakers in the affected areas.
The White House is looking in particular at diverting funds from seven Army Corps of Engineers flood-control projects in California and six in Puerto Rico, California Representative John Garamendi said in an interview. The money would come from $13.9 billion in projects funded by Congress last year that also include Texas, Louisiana and Florida.
“It’s reprehensible," said Garamendi, who has served as the top Democrat on the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation. “It’s absolutely astounding the president would put at risk the lives of literally millions of Americans so he can go build his wall.” He declined to say how he obtained the information about the targeted projects.
Those projects include $1.57 billion to improve levees protecting Sacramento from the American River, and another $1.55 billion to manage flooding from the Rio Puerto Nuevo in San Juan.
If Trump declares a national emergency he could try to divert funding for those Army Corps of Engineer projects or for up to $23 billion in unspent military construction funds. “He should not be raiding that money. It is desperately needed,” said Representative Katie Porter, a California Democrat.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-11/tapping-california-puerto-rico-aid-to-fund-wall-sparks-furor?srnd=politics-vp