[The Hill] The Pentagon is taking money from 19 construction projects, including several in Europe meant to deter Russia, in order to pay for construction projects stateside that had been delayed because funding was reallocated to President Trump’s border wall.
In a memo dated Monday obtained by The Hill, Defense Secretary Mark Esper directed acting Pentagon Comptroller Elaine McCusker to take $545.5 million from projects largely outside the United States to pay for projects within the country.
Top House Democrats slammed the move in a statement Tuesday, accusing the Trump administration of "making an end run around Congress" after lawmakers refused to replenish funding Trump took from military construction for the wall.
"Even worse, Trump is doing this by canceling funding for critical European Deterrence Initiative projects that were designed to bolster real national security needs and prevent Russian aggression against American allies and partners in Europe," House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), chairwoman of the subcommittee in charge of military construction, said in a statement. |