(TheIndependentStar.com) – In a bombshell report, Joe Biden and his administration have been nailed misusing taxpayer funds slated for border wall construction by reallocating them for “environmental planning” activities, a move highlighted in a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report.
This redirection of funds was scrutinized following requests by Republican Representatives Jack Bergman of Michigan and Jodey Arrington of Texas, The Daily Caller reports.
They questioned whether the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) violated any laws by halting the deployment of these funds for their intended purpose of constructing a southern border wall.
The GAO’s investigation concluded that while DHS did redirect the funds, it did not breach any legal constraints.
The funds were instead used for environmental planning and to address ecological damages caused by previous wall constructions.
This finding was interpreted by members of the House Budget Committee, including Bergman and Arrington, as evidence that the Biden administration utilized funds earmarked for bolstering border security to instead advance its environmental objectives.
Historically, Congress had approved funding from fiscal year 2018 through 2021 for the construction of a border barrier.
However, upon assuming office in 2021, President Joe Biden, along with his cabinet members including DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, enacted a policy halting the further use of taxpayer dollars for the wall, opting to repurpose these funds.
DHS outlined its strategy in 2021, which involved reallocating funds originally intended for wall construction to environmental planning activities, scrutiny of imminent eminent domain actions, and ecological restoration in areas previously disturbed by construction, as per the GAO report.
The agency then revised its strategy in July 2022, prioritizing environmental remediation in the spending of the allocated funds from fiscal years 2018-2021.
Under President Biden’s administration, there has been an ongoing effort to reverse or modify the immigration and border policies established by former President Donald Trump.
Despite these changes, challenges at the border have escalated significantly since 2021. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), there have been nearly 8 million encounters at the southwest border since October 2021.
Additionally, the Congressional Budget Office reported in January that over 3.3 million individuals entered the U.S. illegally, were admitted temporarily under parole, or overstayed their authorized time during the fiscal year 2023 alone.
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