A draft of a military construction appropriations bill unveiled by House Democrats Tuesday would block the use of any DOD construction funds for the administration’s border barrier, according to U.S. News and World Report.
The House Appropriations Military Construction-VA subcommittee proposed the $108 billion legislation with language that would prohibit the Pentagon from redirecting $3.6 billion from previously approved military construction projects toward border wall construction.
Later Wednesday the measure moved to the full House Appropriations Committee for review, according to CQ.com.
“This year’s funding bill makes tremendous investments in our veterans and military families, rebuilds our national security infrastructure, and soundly rejects President Trump’s attempt to steal funds from our armed services to pay for a nativist, border wall boondoggle,” subcommittee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) said in a statement introducing the draft legislation.
House Democrats also added $140 million in the draft measure to help improve family housing across the military, according to Military Times.
Wasserman Schultz said the additional housing funds are necessary to ensure a high quality of life for those troops and families by addressing “shoddy housing conditions.”
The veterans and military construction bill is typically among the most popular to advance through Congress, but the border wall language is likely to face opposition from Senate Republicans and a veto threat.
Customs and Border Protection photo by Nicholas Robbs