On Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar held a press conference to discuss updates on the future of border wall funding, sharing details about President-elect Joe Biden’s discretionary authority over the funding.

Congressional leaders added $1.375 billion for border wall funding at the insistence of senators and President Donald Trump. However, Cuellar said that after inauguration, there will be a shift with where that money is spent.

“If the Trump Administration is able to obligate all of this funding for new border wall before January 21, 2021, President Biden will be able to cancel those contracts with little loss of funding since the contracts will have been signed so recently and the federal government has wide discretion to cancel contracts for convenience,” documents provided by Cuellar state.

With any remaining funds there are two options. First, Biden could ask Congress to rescue and reappropriate the remaining funds for another purpose for Customs and Border Protection or at other agencies within the Department of Homeland Security, documents state.

If that fails to happen, the next option would be to use those funds for a “barrier system.” Since that term is not defined by law, the Biden Administration could use the funding for technology, roads and lighting associated with already-constructed border barriers or to replace older, existing fencing.

As of Dec. 16, the Laredo border wall project had an initial projected estimate of $1.268 billion. But the amount disbursed expensed is $4.57 million, Cuellar said. According to documents, approximately 70 miles of the border wall system that was approved by Congressional Appropriations in 2020 is currently at 90% of the right of entry stage. The government has not begun to purchase or take properties in the area.

Cuellar also said that the Department of Defense has unofficially begun preparations for Biden’s likely stop-work order for the border wall projects.

“This would include preparing the notice of termination which specifies the extent of termination and the effective date,” Cuellar’s document states. “Hypothetically, this notice can be delivered within a few days of direction from the president. After receipt of a notice of termination, the contractor shall immediately stop work, terminate subcontracts and place no further orders as specified in the notice.”

Because the termination would be for convenience, a cost settlement is most likely required.

“Generally the contractor is allowed 30+ days to submit a settlement proposal which the government will evaluate for 30+ days,” the document states. “After negotiations, the government would de-obligate the remaining funds and close out the contract.”

It adds, “For these contracts, a termination for convenience would be appropriate as it allows the government to ‘unilaterally’ terminate a contract when such action is determined to be in the best interest of the government.”

Meaning, once the contractor receives the termination notice, the contractor immediately stops work as specified in the notice.

Laredo Mayor Pete Saenz told Cuellar that the information he provided is precisely what he wanted to hear.

“I think now with this information, we can take it to management and council and we can structure a direction for our city as well,” Saenz said. “Me, as a mayor, and individually, whatever monies are subject to those contracts within those areas should be repurposed primarily in this area before they go anywhere else.”

He added, “There’s a lot of flexibility and discretion that President Biden can assert here. It also brings in community involvement and community input and this is where the respective entities would have to gather and decide exactly what monies would be repurposed.”

Cuellar said he strongly opposes a physical border wall and does not believe in open borders, but he believes in technology, personnel and “working with our friends from the south.”

Additionally, Cuellar shared that as of Dec. 10, CBP has approximately 679 miles of primary barriers and approximately 68 miles of secondary barriers on the southwest border.

“To date, approximately 430 miles of new border wall system have been constructed in place of dilapidated and outdated designs or in locations where no barriers previously existed within the U.S. Border Patrol’s San Diego, El Centro, Yuma, Tucson, El Paso and Rio Grande Valley sectors,” documents state.

In the Laredo and RGV sectors, approximately 65 miles of new primary and secondary border wall systems are in the pre-construction phase, according to documents provided by Cuellar. They are expected to begin construction in 2021.

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