Alongside the $900 billion COVID-19 stimulus package that Congressional leaders agreed to on Sunday is a $1.4 trillion omnibus appropriations bill that will fund 12 federal departments through September 2021.

Included in this bill is funding for another $1.375 billion for the construction of the border wall.

Senate Republicans insisted on including this funding to appease outgoing President Trump, Laredo’s Rep. Henry Cuellar said Monday. But he believes once President-elect Biden takes office in January, they’ll begin working on how the money can be reprogrammed and the existing construction contracts terminated.

The bill’s language does not specifically delineate the $1.375 billion funding, but rather calls for funding in “an amount equal to the amount made available” for construction of a “barrier system” in the 2019 appropriations act.

Cuellar noted that there is no definition for “barrier system,” and that this could ostensibly apply to lighting, river roads and cameras, for example, rather than a 30-foot wall.

The language specifies only that the money is meant for the southern border, but does not name any cities or sectors.

In previous years, Cuellar added language into this bill so that the wall could not be constructed in several places along the border, including the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge, La Lomita Historical Park and historic cemeteries.

This year, he included in the House version of the bill exceptions for any site on the National Register of Historic Places, Sacred Heart Children’s Home, the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge and property within one mile of historic sites along the Los Caminos del Rio Heritage Corridor.

However, none of these exceptions made it into the final negotiated agreement.

Congress’ relief package does not including any aid for cities, counties or states this time around. However, these entities now have until Dec. 31, 2021 to spend what was allocated to them in the spring.

Dozens of City of Laredo employees have been transferred into contact tracing work this year and are being paid through CARES Act funding.

City Manager Robert Eads told local media Monday that the city will keep these employees on the payroll using city funding through at least March, and that city administration is committed to their effort.