Washington, D.C. – House Armed Services Committee Chairman (D-WA) admonished the Trump Administration after receiving the long-awaited release of in jeopardy military construction projects that could be used to fund building a border wall.

“After repeated requests by the Committee and individual Member offices, Acting Secretary of Defense Shanahan provided the list of unobligated military construction projects today. Should the Secretary decide to use the emergency 2808 authority in response to the President’s national emergency declaration, the projects on this list are the ones that would be at risk of having their funding diverted to construction of an unnecessary border wall. This manufactured crisis serves no purpose other than to further the President’s misguided focus on anti-immigrant rhetoric, instead of what is in the best interest of national security.

“We take our oversight role very seriously, and will act as necessary to defend Congress’ Constitutional prerogatives in this matter. Next week Acting Secretary of Defense Shanahan will appear before our Committee, and we look forward to hearing how he intends to pilfer the military construction accounts, circumvent the intended nature of the law, while simultaneously abusing the trust of the American people.”

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