McConnell, Ryan Say Congress Will Pay for Trump's $12B Border Wall

[mac56]

Source: ABC News

ouse Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said today that Congress will forge ahead with plans to approve funds for President Donald Trump's border wall, which they estimate will cost $12 billion to $15 billion.

"We intend to address the wall issue ourselves, and the president can deal with his relations with other countries on that issue and others," McConnell told reporters at a GOP policy retreat in Philadelphia.

Ryan promised that building the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border will not add to the federal deficit.

He said he expects Congress to address the wall in a supplemental funding bill after a formal request from the White House.


Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/mcconnell-ryan-congress-pay-trumps-12b-border-wall/story?id=45063195

---

See, this is why we can't have nice things.

[question everything]

1. Can't wait for members of Congress to comve home for "Spring breadk"

and explain their constituents why they can find money for this but not for bringing the jobs back.

Or for looking for the missing votes.

[IronLionZion]

7. They're creating wall building jobs and voter investigation jobs

[louis-t]

9. To all potential wall builders:

Make sure you get paid up front.

[C Moon]

2. Putin must have told them to do something about it.

[Womyns Rights]

3. I think universal health care is more important.

[CountAllVotes]

52. Welcome to the Democratic Underground Womyns Rights

there and Welcome!!

Nail on head btw!!!

[thegoose]

4. Hey! Let's jump into the pit with Donnie!

Unbelievable. Traitors, all of them.

[cstanleytech]

5. I wish I had some swamp land to sale to whoever buys Ryans and McConnell lies. nt

[aggiesal]

6. Maybe we can build a couple of ...

Stadiums with that money!!!

No, really, there are a lot of better uses for that money, like maybe
pay of advanced education, actually spend money on infrastructure ...

Nothing like pandering to your moronic base.

[heaven05]

8. Well

we will have our own Maginot Line and those of us old enough remember how that went...geez these people are so fucking stupid!!!!!!!!!

[bravenak]

15. Extra stupid

[yallerdawg]

10. "Congress will pay for Trump's wall."

Thank God!

I was afraid we would have to pay for it!

[Nash Teeth]

11. Any estimate of the $ benifit from the cost?

Just asking.

[groundloop]

25. What benefit? They'll decimate the rest of the economy to pay for it.

[NickB79]

36. It will devastate agriculture that relies on migrant labor

Prepare to pay a shitload more for produce when you can't get Mexicans to pick tomatoes for cheap anymore. We'll see how many white guys show up to sweat under the blazing sun instead.

Between this and cancelling the TPP (that promised to increase agricultural exports), Trump is really going to screw his rural base. And after seeing all the farmers with Trump signs in their fields this fall, all I can do is laugh!

[Kittycow]

40. White guys work one day at stoop labor/file Workman's Comp

There was a southern state a few years back that tightened laws against migrant labor and the crops rotted in the field.

I have 0 sympathy for farmers for trump. The evil part of me hopes they pay for their vote.

[geek tragedy]

12. is that supplemental spending bill subject to a filibuster? nt

[ffr]

13. $12B in government speak is $24B - $36B after republicans get done looting it.

Then it'll probably fall over in a stiff wind.

[Chipper Chat]

30. Won't fall over.

But it will have 1000 tunnels under it.

[briv1016]

39. You're forgetting maintenance costs.

[C_U_L8R]

14. Congress isn't paying for anything.

They're just sticking us with the bill.

How do you like them oranges, Trump voters???

[Achilleaze]

16. Comrade Casino ain't gonna put even a penny in the pot

Because he's a freakin Republican Tax Dodger

just like he's a freakin Republican Draft Dodger

sad

[Generator]

17. Anybody that ever thought Ryan is sensible

knows he's just as bad now as Trump. Siding with bullshit. Siding with a madman. Money for this but not health care and seniors.
Rot in hell Ryan. You deserve it prettyboy.

[coco22]

46. I think they don't get it yet..

[Bernardo de La Paz]

18. Notice they say "Congress" when it is spending they like & "Taxpayers" when they don't like it. . nt

[Iggo]

19. Congress doesn't pay for shit.

WE are the ones paying for it.

[turbinetree]

20. SO who is Peter are they going to rob to pay PAUL (Eddie Munster)

My bets on Social Security and Medicare for starters

And for everyone that thinks that we have top play nice----------------------NO

Its time to take to the streets yesterday and tomorrow and the next day.

F*** these right wing fascist all of them

[groundloop]

33. ABSOLUTELY.... they'll create a problem then rob Social Security and Medicare to fix it

[turbinetree]

50. Check out my response to Coco22

WE need to RatF**k these ass***es starting in 2018 and 2020, just like they did to us

[coco22]

47. And the protest signs should link up ..

this wall and other shit they are proposing. I thought republiCONS said "we got to cut the spending" We got to cut the spending but they need to spend what is in the coffers to destroy the average american.

[turbinetree]

49. What is really galling is that the consumer, you, me and everyone else

is watching at home and wondering how in the hell did we get this way...................we got Ratf**ked, and I encourage everyone to read the book by David Daily.

WE can win the popular vote but we can't win the RatF**ked, and it needs to start for 2018 and 2020.
It will take 100 progressives to out vote the 94 fascist that go to vote..
My attitude game on, we did it during the Vietnam fiasco and we did it during the Iraq fiacso

[Bernardo de La Paz]

21. Texas GOP Rep. Slams Trump's Wall: It's 'Unnecessary' And Too Expensive

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141678700

Texas GOP Rep. Slams Trump's Wall: It's 'Unnecessary' And Too Expensive
Talking Points Memo

By CAITLIN MACNEAL Published JANUARY 26, 2017, 8:47 AM EDT

After President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive action ordering the construction of a wall along the United States' border with Mexico, Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX) issued a scathing statement criticizing Trump's order.

"The facts have not changed. Building a wall is the most expensive and least effective way to secure the border," Hurd said in a Wednesday statement. "Each section of the border faces unique geographical, cultural, and technological challenges that would be best addressed with a flexible, sector-by-sector approach that empowers the agents on the ground with the resources they need. A wall may be an effective tool in densely populated areas, but a variety of tools are needed between Brownsville, Texas and San Diego, California."

Hurd, who represents a large swath of the border, noted that it's not possible to build the wall in certain areas along the border.

"The 23rd District of Texas, which I represent, has over 800 miles of the border, more than any other Member of Congress, and it is impossible to build a physical wall in much of its terrain," the congressman said in the statement. "Big Bend National Park and many areas in my district are perfect examples of where a wall is unnecessary and would negatively impact the environment, private property rights, and economy. There is no question that we must secure our border, but we need an intelligence-led approach in order to effectively combat the 19 criminal organizations currently operating in Mexico."

###

Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/will-hurd-trump-border-wall

[madokie]

23. They're going at this the wrong way

throw the assholes who hire undocumented workers in jail. Help the Mexican people to build a better life for themselves at home and they'll stay home where I'm sure most of them would rather be anyway but due to the lack of opportunity they have no choice but to immigrate here hoping for the best.

This can be solved without hurting anyone and without building a stupid ass tRump wall.



Our drug so called 'war' is a big part of the problem too.

[TexasBushwhacker]

37. They have NEVER come down hard on employers

And that's the only thing that makes sense. I've worked for 3 companies that hired undocumented workers. Two on a small scale, another on a large scale (a commercial landscaping company). The way they get around the law is that it is INCREDIBLY easy to get fake ID, fake "green" cards and fake Social Security cards. Some are good facsimiles, some are obvious counterfeits.

The thing is, the federal government doesn't REQUIRE that employers to confirm the validity of the documents. They can, through the Department of Labor's website, but they aren't required to.

I was the bookkeeper, but also handled new hire paperwork. There was one time that a new hire's documents were obviously fake. I spoke to the Operations Manager about it and he said "All we're required to do is have a copy of their IDs on file with their I-9s. You've done your due diligence." And yes, they hired him.

So, I would say that a very simple thing they can do is to REQUIRE employers to confirm the validity of an employee's identity and work status. They already have to register new hires with their state attorney general for the purposes of child support. Maybe they should require the states to do the checking.

Of course there will be push back from all the businesses who hire undocumented workers. There will probably be push back from the states too.

Beyond that, they need to come down HARD on the employers who hire undocumented workers. Big fines and jail time. As long as they know they can find jobs, the workers will still emigrate.

Or they could update the immigration laws.

It's just like the drug problem. You'll never solve the problem by locking up the dealers. There will always be more to take their place. You have to attack it from the demand side, the users. Offer rehab to anyone who wants it and address the reasons why people turn to drugs in the first place.

[madokie]

44. Yup

We're on the same page

[madokie]

22. Can't wait for my property taxes to take another hit

fuck these sumbit*hes

[logosoco]

24. This is so stupid!

How can I even look at my grandsons and explain this?

[underpants]

26. You won't have to. This is going nowhere

And they know it. There is no way we could pay for this. No way.

[muntrv]

27. As long as the money comes out of Ryan and McConnell's paychecks and campaign war chest, I'm ok.

[Tanuki]

28. Let DFT pay for it. He claims to be rich enough, and he claims the Mexicans will cover the cost.

To paraphrase him, what has he got to lose. He should put his money where his mouth is.

[moondust]

29. The party of "fiscal responsibility."

[doc03]

31. The world celebrated when the Soviet Union took down the Berlin wall.

Now comrade Trumputin builds one. Did that asshole ever hear of airplanes, ladders and boats?

[bluescribbler]

32. They think it will only cost $12 billion

They're living in a dream world.

[tavernier]

34. Breaking News

Congress stops payment on all social security checks, cancels social security program, effective immediately, in order to pay for border wall between United States and Mexico.

In other news, Purina cat food sales reach record highs among seniors.

[Grins]

35. "...building the wall ...will not add to the federal deficit." How? Just effing how?

"Ryan promised that building the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border will not add to the federal deficit. "

S'plain that one, please. Magic?

[BumRushDaShow]

48. Off the books. Return of the magical asterisk.

Like the old days. Obama took Bush's war spending and put it back on the books as part of the regular budget/appropriation process (versus doing the "supplemental appropriations&quot back in 2009 -

Obama Bans Gimmicks, and Deficit Will Rise

By JACKIE CALMES
FEB. 19, 2009

WASHINGTON — For his first annual budget next week, President Obama has banned four accounting gimmicks that President George W. Bush used to make deficit projections look smaller. The price of more honest bookkeeping: A budget that is $2.7 trillion deeper in the red over the next decade than it would otherwise appear, according to administration officials. The new accounting involves spending on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Medicare reimbursements to physicians and the cost of disaster responses. But the biggest adjustment will deal with revenues from the alternative minimum tax, a parallel tax system enacted in 1969 to prevent the wealthy from using tax shelters to avoid paying any income tax.

Even with bigger deficit projections, the Obama administration will put the country on “a sustainable fiscal course” by the end of Mr. Obama’s term, Peter R. Orszag, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, said Thursday in an interview. Mr. Orszag did not provide details of how the administration would reduce a deficit expected to reach at least $1.5 trillion this year.

Mr. Obama’s banishment of the gimmicks, which have been widely criticized, is in keeping with his promise to run a more transparent government. Fiscal sleight of hand has long been a staple of federal budgets, giving rise to phrases like “rosy scenario” and “magic asterisks.”The $2.7 trillion in additional deficit spending, Mr. Orszag said, is “a huge amount of money that would just be kind of a magic asterisk in previous budgets.”“The president prefers to tell the truth,” he said, “rather than make the numbers look better by pretending.”

<...>

As for war costs, Mr. Bush included little or none in his annual military budgets, instead routinely asking Congress for supplemental appropriations during the year. Mr. Obama will include cost projections for every year through the 2019 fiscal year to cover “overseas military contingencies” — nearly $500 billion over 10 years.

<...>

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/20/us/politics/20budget.html

[hollowdweller]

38. Interesting to see how this affects US agriculture.

[itcfish]

41. Congress will not Pay

The AMERICAN PEOPLE will pay

[Barbara2423]

42. What about paying for health care or

lowering taxes for the working people.

[Initech]

43. The fact that they're even remotely considering going along with this is fucking insane!

Paul and Mitch should both be removed from office.

[Ilsa]

45. $12 billion divided by 535 Congresscritters equals $22,429,906 and change each.

I'm sure it's no big deal to most of them.


Hey, they said they'd pay for it.

[doc03]

51. That's Trump's infrastructure bill nt

[dubyadiprecession]

53. Why spend 15 billion on people who can really use it, when you can spend money on a wall...

with almost no effectiveness?
Time will prove the wall as a Huge mistake.