The nation’s homeland security chief defended her agency’s $46.5 billion budget request to continue building a wall across the southern border amid questions from Republicans skeptical about the cost.
The hearing, held May 20 by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, was scheduled to discuss Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem’s budget request for the upcoming fiscal year.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) pointed out that during President Donald Trump’s first term, 458 miles of border wall were built for $6.6 billion, or about $14 million per mile.
Using that same math, Noem’s requested funding could build more than 3,000 miles of wall, he said. The border is about 1,900 miles long.
“Why is the request so high when we were able to build so many miles in the first term for a lot less?“ Johnson asked.
Noem said she estimated the construction of 70 miles of border wall since Trump began his second term at a cost of about $12 million per mile, but that included a mix of permanent and temporary steel structures and buoy barriers in the Rio Grande River.
She said one area that requires more funding is technology supporting the border wall. Currently, about one-third of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) cameras don’t work.
Johnson told Noem she needed to refigure the request, noting the federal debt.
“We’re $37 trillion in debt. I’m just gonna ask you and the department to sharpen your pencil on that wall request,” he said. “I think it’s more than you need.”
Moody’s downgraded the United States’ long-term credit rating on May 16 from AAA—the highest possible score—to AA1. The rating agency referenced debt-servicing costs along with the high cost of rolling over debt in the current high-rate environment.
Committee Chairman Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said the budget request didn’t add up.
The United States has fenced or walled about 700 miles, Paul said, leaving about 1,200 miles. Of the remaining border, some terrain is so rugged that there will likely be no fence or wall, he added.
He estimated that less than 1,000 miles of the border still needed a barrier. CBP estimated the cost for a wall at $6.5 million per mile, much lower than the $12 million per mile Noem estimated, Rand noted.
Even using Noem’s $12 million per mile figure, Rand said it would cost $12 billion to construct 1,000 miles of wall, not $46.5 billion.
Rand questioned Noem’s explanation that supporting technology being added to the entire border wall package would cost that much.
“The number’s way off,” he said. “I’m one who’s not impressed.”
Noem responded: “We'll get you the specifics on that.”
During the hearing, Noem said the reconciliation budget proposal for DHS is “incredibly important” to secure the border and perform its other duties, such as assessing and collecting duties on tariffs.
“The fact of the matter is, the Department of Homeland Security is one of the largest agencies with one of the smallest budgets,” she said.
Democrats have also questioned the specific costs of the border wall.
During a May 15 hearing before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Department of Homeland Security, Rep. Ed Case (D-Hi.) raised similar issues concerning the wall budget with acting CBP Commissioner Pete Flores.
“Because $46.5 billion is a lot of money to spend when the administration says that it has solved the problem already,” Case said.
Case asked for specific details on what the money would be used for, how many miles of wall it would pay for, and how long it would take to build.
Flores said the border wall budget includes roads, sensors, fiber optic cable, and cameras. He added that the border wall budget would pay for about 700 more miles of wall, but could not give a timeframe yet.
