Statement of Chairman Leahy On the GAO Decision on the Pause of Border Barrier Construction Obligations
Today’s announcement by the GAO is a welcome one. As the ruling made clear, a review of the environmental havoc wrought by former President Trump’s vanity wall, and taking the time to actually consult with the various stake holders, including landowners whose land was being seized, is legal and permitted by law. President Trump’s approach to the wall at the Southern Border was at best a bumper sticker approach to a serious policy issue, and it should be reviewed to ensure that American taxpayers’ dollars are well spent. It was right for President Biden to suspend the funds for such a review.
As the ruling explicitly states, there should be no false equivalence drawn between this legal, programmatic delay and the personal, political, secret, and illegal impoundment of aid for Ukraine by the former President.
President Biden has been transparent and public about this process. I look forward to continuing to work with the Administration as this process moves forward.
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