Two military construction projects in Indiana with a total value of about $14 million have been put on hold by the Trump administration as part of a national $3.6 billion funding diversion to build the US/Mexico wall.
The Pentagon on Sept. 4 reported the projects on hold include a $16 million railcar holding area at Crane Army Ammunition Plant, and an $8 million small arms range at the Air National Guard’s Hulman Field in Terre Haute.
U.S. Senator Mike Braun (R-Indiana) says President Trump made a difficult but necessary decision in diverting the funds, Indiana Public Media reports.
“It’s sad that we do have to divert funds from one area to the other for a need that has been out there for a long time, which is a border that has no order to it,” Braun says.
Braun says the projects aren’t off the table, they’ll just be delayed.
Meanwhile, Rep. Jim. Banks (R-Columbia City) says the projects are minor and can wait.
“The most urgent construction project for our national security is the border wall,” Banks said in a statement. “We need and have a right to know who is coming across our southern border.”
Defense Secretary Mark Esper wrote in a letter t to the chair of the Armed Services Committee that the funding will pay for 11 projects along the border, including replacing and building fencing. The letter says the projects are necessary after President Trump declared a national emergency along the border earlier this year that requires the use of armed forces.
