Blowing Border Bucks
How DHS Wasted Billions

American Patrol Report-- September 13


What costs more?
Top – expand highway from two to four lanes. --
Bottom: Build a vehicle barrier along the border with National Guard help. --
Answer: Bottom.

The U.S. taxpayer ponied up $2.73 billion over two years to build a border fence. Most of what it got was a bunch of bureaucrats determined to keep the border open and contractors lining their pockets.

According to the Government Accountability Office, the Department of Homeland Security awarded the Boeing Company contracts totaling $933 million dollars for the SBInet system, of which $122 million was spent building a fence (Page . The fence, 32 miles of fairly simple post and mesh design, runs along the desert south and east of Yuma, Arizona cost $3.8 million per mile – and that was last year.

The rest, $817 million was totally wasted on a stupid virtual fence and useless bureaucrats.

Outrageous Costs

The GOA reports that, vehicle barriers alone now cost $4 million per mile. (By comparison, an Arizona Highway was expanded from two-lanes to four lanes for $3.1 million per mile.)

Estimates Vary

The GAO says "We previously reported that as of February 21, 2008, the SBI program office had constructed 168 miles of pedestrian fence and 135 miles of vehicle fence." ( Page 2). Strangely enough, the current GAO report ( page 15) says that, as of August 22, 2008, the SBI had built only 109 miles of pedestrian fence, and that is after adding 19 miles fence since February. If we add 168 miles in February and 19 miles built since, we get we get 186 miles, not 109 as now reported. Somehow we are missing 78 miles of fence.

American Border Patrol reported that, as of July 29, DHS had built 108 miles of fence.

Huge Bureaucracy

The GAO reports that the SBI program office had a total of 293 employees, of which 164 were contractor support staff.

Summary and Comment

American Patrol will continue to sift through the GAO reports but it is clear that the Strategic Border Initiative is a disaster. It wasted money and people in a blatant bureaucratic assault on the treasury and the security needs of America.
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