More than $1 billion set aside for border wall construction remains unspent, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
The GAO review looked at funds appropriated specifically for border barriers for fiscal years 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.
The review found that $1.375 billion had been appropriated to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for border wall construction in fiscal year 2018, of which all but $340,000 had been spent.
In fiscal year 2019, another $1.375 billion was appropriated to DHS for wall construction, of which $146.4 million remains. Another $1.375 billion was given to DHS for the border wall in fiscal year 2020, with $12 million from that tranche remaining.
Fiscal year 2021, which began on Oct. 1, 2020, again saw Congress appropriate $1.375 billion to DHS for wall construction. But while wall construction had been a major component of President Donald Trump’s campaign and presidency, President Joe Biden vowed during the 2020 presidential campaign that he would not allow another foot of wall construction on his watch, and he halted such construction efforts when he first took office.
Despite his campaign trail vows not to add another foot of border wall, some construction has resumed under his watch. In an October 2023 statement, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the Biden administration remains opposed to new wall construction but has been unable to rescind prior appropriations and remains obligated to use the funds for their prescribed purpose.
The GAO report found that of the $1.375 billion allocated for wall construction in fiscal year 2021, the Biden administration has thus far obligated $644.2 million, and spent $334.8 million of that money. Another $662.1 million remains available for obligation. DHS was allowed to transfer another $68.8 million of the 2021 wall appropriation to unrelated projects.
In total, about $1.1 billion appropriated to DHS for wall construction between fiscal year 2018 and 2021 remains unspent, according to the new GAO assessment.
Wall Stall Fuels Political Furor
While some wall construction has continued under the Biden administration, many Republicans have urged a more rapid construction effort.
Federal budgetary laws, such as the Impoundment Control Act (ICA), generally require the president and the executive branch to spend the funds appropriated by Congress, with limits on when the executive branch can impound such funds.
Many Republicans have argued that the Biden administration was violating these laws by stalling wall construction, but the GAO concluded in June 2021 that the Biden administration’s policies on wall construction constituted “programmatic delays” rather than unlawful impoundments. Republicans, in turn, denounced that GAO conclusion as a political double standard.
“GAO’s decision today makes clear that there are two sets of rules when it comes to executing funds appropriated by Congress: one for Democrat administrations and one for Republican administrations,” Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) and Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee ranking member Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) said in a June 2021 joint statement. “The decision splits hairs to justify actions that, just two years ago, were determined to be contrary to ‘the faithful execution of the law.’”
The latest GAO report on unspent wall appropriations again concludes that the Biden administration delays are programmatic.
“Since our 2021 decision, DHS has continued to incur obligations against amounts appropriated specifically for border barriers for fiscal years 2018 through 2021 at a rate consistent with the ICA,” the latest GAO report concludes.
At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in January, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) said the U.S. Department of Defense had at one point been spending around $130,000 a day on storage costs for unused wall materials, or about $47 million each year. During that same Senate hearing, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) alleged the DOD had auctioned off wall materials originally valued at about $4.4 million for $156,000, a 96 percent discount off the original price.
Biden’s Wall Strategy
While some funding for wall appropriations has continued, the new GAO report notes DHS policy since 2021 includes using wall appropriations to review and rescind environmental waivers previously granted for wall construction projects, as well as to “remediate or mitigate environmental damage from past border wall construction,” and other environmental planning and reviews pertaining to the wall construction.
In its own statement on the wall funding freeze in June 2021, the Biden White House said it’s focused on border and immigration strategies that “facilitate fair and orderly migration at the border and keep border communities safe.”
“This includes addressing the root causes of migration, driving 21st century technological solutions for border management, and giving people options to apply for asylum and other legal pathways in their home country,” the Biden White House said. “Building a massive wall that spans the entire southern border and costs American taxpayers billions of dollars is not a serious policy solution or responsible use of Federal funds.”
The Republican-controlled House Budget Committee continued to denounce the Biden administration’s handling of border funds following this latest GAO report. The committee’s Republican majority said this latest review shows that “the Biden Administration has violated the purpose of the law by diverting that funding away from directly constructing border barriers to focus on environmental policies.”
Republicans have also raised objections to the amount of money spent to warehouse unused wall materials the federal government has already purchased.