US Security Fence Funding Plunges Under Obama

Funding for U.S. security border fencing, infrastructure, and technology under the administration of President Barack Obama has dropped to about half of the levels at its peak under President George W. Bush. Funding was at $1.3 billion in 2008 and now is $573 million, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) analysis, CNSNews reported.

The levels have been declining since the end of the Bush administration, dropping to $845 billion for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2008, and ending Sept. 30, 2009. The GAO report said that, as of last January, the government ended a five-year and nearly billion dollar project known as the virtual fence “because it did not meet cost-effectiveness and viability standards,” CNSNews reported.

The Homeland Security Department “is developing a successor plan to secure the Southwest border called the Alternative [Southwest] Border Technology plan,” CNSNews quotes the GAO report as saying. “The plan’s first phase is the Arizona Border Surveillance Technology Plan, which also includes a mix of radars, sensors, and cameras.”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is responsible for securing a total of 8,607 miles of the U.S. border, including 2,000 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border. As of last year, the government has “effective control” over 873 miles on the U.S.-Mexico border, CNSNews reported.