White House wants $7 billion more for DHS to fund wall

More than half of the request is for a ‘steel barrier’ along the southwest border

Posted Jan 7, 2019 11:16 AM

David Lerman
@davidlerman2

The White House formally asked lawmakers Sunday to provide an additional $7 billion beyond what Senate appropriators proposed in their bipartisan Homeland Security spending bill last year, with more than half earmarked for a “steel barrier” along the southwest border.

The request, outlined in a letter from Acting Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, doesn’t seem likely to lead to an immediate breakthrough in reopening large portions of the federal government that have been closed since Dec. 22.

At $5.7 billion for border barriers, or $4.1 billion more than the Senate’s fiscal 2019 bill, President Donald Trump proposes more than he’d requested earlier for a concrete wall. And the proposal reiterates some of Trump’s earlier requests rejected by Senate appropriators, including nearly $800 million to support 52,000 detention beds for immigrant detainees.

But the letter shows White House openness to Democratic priorities, including $800 million to respond to the “urgent humanitarian needs” of migrants taken into custody, as well as restoring the Obama-era Central American Minors program so asylum-seeking children can be screened in their home countries.

The OMB letter fleshes out the administration’s position as the partial government shutdown heads toward the longest in history. Negotiators met behind closed doors Sunday to discuss the proposals, with no evident signs of progress as the two sides dug in publicly over border security.

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https://www.rollcall.com/news/whitehouse/white-house-details-7-billion-border-funding-boost