Democratic Spin on Border Security Funds

Democrats say the Trump administration is asking for more money for a border wall even though it has spent only 6 percent of the funds that Congress has appropriated for border security over the past two years. That’s misleading. About 60 percent has been awarded to contracts.

This talking point raises wonky aspects of the federal budget process. But Democrats gloss over the fact that most of the money has been obligated and most has been specifically awarded to contracts.

, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, told us that “CBP has obligated more than 90% of the funds provided in FY 2017 and 2018.”. “An agency incurs an obligation, for example, when it places an order, signs a contract, awards a grant, purchases a service, or takes other actions that require the government to make payments to the public or from one government account to another,” GAO explains.