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Border Fence Update 10-5-2008

 

Cost overruns and other problems make it unlikely that the 670-mile fence along the U.S. Southwest border will be finished by year’s end, officials say.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said rising costs for construction and materials and delays in acquiring land were factors delaying the barrier’s completion.

Officials are asking for more money for the project. Some 341 miles of fencing is in place along the 2,000-mile border. But, the agency said completing the project depends on redirecting $400 million in department funds.

Since 2005, Congress has appropriated $2.7 billion for the project that U.S. President Bush says is vital to securing the border.

I am still confused why this fence can’t be completed for less than $2.7 billion. I won’t get into a debate on this blog whether we need the fence or not, but I will call out those wasting taxpayer money. With the recent $700 billion Bailout Bill from the government, we don’t need to spend anymore than we have to.

A powerful House Democrat? demanded an update from Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on a project to build a high-tech border fence, saying that delays and setbacks in the Boeing-led program make its future unclear.

In a letter to Chertoff, Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson sought more details on Boeing’s contract, which has an estimated value of $933 million, to build a network of sensors and surveillance systems to monitor a portion of the U.S.-Mexico border. The program, called Secure Border Initiative, is meant to prevent illegal immigration.

“This project has been plagued by missed deadlines and unforeseen difficulties which in turn have resulted in retooled and severely downgraded expectations,” the Mississippi Democrat wrote.

Chicago-based Boeing Co. initially set up the network on a 28-mile stretch of the border near Tucson, Ariz., work known as Project 28. The technology includes cameras and sensors mounted on towers and buried in the ground that can feed information to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers.

But according to Thompson’s letter, delays pushed back the implementation of Project 28 by eight months. Construction on two new sections in Arizona, totaling 53 miles of border, is expected to begin early next year, according to Customs spokeswoman Angela de Rocha. The department is in process of obtaining environmental permits for the new fence sections.

“We are moving forward with it,” de Rocha said.

The Government Accountability Office earlier this week reported that the program is “ambiguous and in a continued state of flux,” which makes it difficult to tell when and how the project will finally take shape. The GAO has suggested that a new contractor could take over if the administration is not pleased with Boeing’s work.

Boeing spokeswoman Deborah Bosick said delays are “not due to any cost or performance issues on Boeing’s part.”

Plans originally called for the building of 670 miles of fencing on the border between Mexico and the U.S. by the end of the year. However, only 334 miles have been completed. Customs officials said earlier this month they plan to have the entire length of the project either under construction or under contract by year-end