(PatrioticPost.com) – In a push to finally get that wall built, after years of Democrats standing in the way of the funding required to do it, President Donald Trump is reportedly waiving contracting laws to get the job done.
On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security announced that 10 laws relating to procurement regulations were being waived. These include rules that dictate the requirement of open competition, as well as the process of justifying selection and accepting bonding from contractors before construction begins. The Associated Press, reporting on the news, explained how relaxing the rules means that 177 more miles of wall will now be able to be built in Texas, Arizona, California, and New Mexico.
Take that, Nancy!
The rules mean that those who lost out on the contract will not be able to contest the decision.
Chad Wolf, acting Homeland Security secretary, is implementing the changes under the power granted to him by 2005 legislation.
Speaking to Fox News, Wolf explained, “We hope that will accelerate some of the construction that’s going along the southwest border.”
This isn’t the first time that waivers have been issued under President Trump, or other presidents for that matter. Under Trump, 16 waivers have been issued. Under President George W. Bush, five were issued. However, this would be the first time that waivers have been used on federal procurement rules.
In the past, waivers were usually used exclusively to remove the complications of environmental impact reviews. Wolf did explain that much of the waivers implemented this time were also targeted towards these reviews.
“Congress has given the department authority to waive a number of laws and regulations when it comes to building border barriers and border roads. The department has used that authority 21 times – mostly waiving environmental regulations and laws,” he said.
The Trump administration announced that, following the waivers, a further 94 miles of the wall should be completed by the end of 2020.
In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security explained:
“Under the president’s leadership, we are building more wall, faster than ever before.”
As Trump heads towards the November presidential race, he needs to prove that sufficient progress has been made on the wall. Building a barrier on the southern border has a key part of his 2016 campaign, and even with the prospect of electing a Democrat as president, some voters may not turn out to vote for the president if they feel he fell through on that key promise.
