Senate Top Democrat to Try Again to Block Trump's Border Wal
Posted: Tue Sep 10, 2019 7:59 am
FILE - Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer talks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Aug. 1, 2019.
WASHINGTON - The Senate's top Democrat intends to force a vote to block President Donald Trump from using special emergency powers to transfer money from military base construction projects like new schools to pay for new fences along the U.S.-Mexico border.
That's according to prepared remarks Tuesday by Sen. Chuck Schumer, who says the vote would give lawmakers a chance to block Trump “from stealing military funding from their states to foot the bill for an expensive and ineffective wall.”
A similar measure passed this spring with 12 Senate Republican votes but was vetoed by Trump. The rules allow Schumer to retry every few months.
The Pentagon has identified $3.6 billion worth of military construction projects it's willing to kill to build 282 kilometers (175 miles) of border wall.
Trump says a wall would stop immigrants from entering the country illegally.