How much did Obama's border fence project cost?
WASHINGTON-The Obama administration on Friday ended a high-tech border fence project that cost taxpayers nearly $1 billion but did little to improve security. Congress ordered the high-tech fence along the border with Mexico in 2006 amid a clamor over the porous border, but it yielded only 53 miles of protection.
What was the purpose of the virtual fences under Obama?
The virtual and physical fences had three justifications under the Bush administration, which were then carried on into the Obama administration. The goals were to decrease the number of undocumented workers, to increase the drug interdictions, and to stop alleged terrorists. They were never refuted by Obama.
How much has Obama spent in his first 10 years?
That legislation is not yet even counted in Obama’s spending record so far because it mostly does not go into effect until 2014. But it is now scored by CBO as increasing federal spending by $1.6 trillion in the first 10 years alone, with trillions more to come in future years.
How much has federal spending increased under Obama?
That budget shows federal spending increasing from $2.983 trillion in 2008 to an all time record $3.796 trillion in 2012, an increase of 27.3%. Moreover, before Obama there had never been a deficit anywhere near $1 trillion. The highest previously was $458 billion, or less than half a trillion, in 2008.
Who passed the Secure Fence Act?
The Act was signed into law on October 26, 2006, by U.S. President George W. Bush, who stated at the time that the Act would "help protect the American people", would "make our borders more secure", and was "an important step toward immigration reform".
Where is the border wall in Arizona?
The new 30-foot tall bollard fence that replaced old U.S./Mexico border fence can be seen on the left. It's located about miles east of the Lukeville, Arizona port of entry on October 8, 2019.
How long is the US Mexico border in miles?
The United States' southern border with Mexico is 1,933 miles long, stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the tip of South Texas. Some 700 of those miles have fencing in place.
How long is the physical fence that separates Mexico and the US?
1,954 milesDescription. The 1,954 miles (3,145 km) border between the United States and Mexico traverses a variety of terrains, including urban areas and deserts. The border from the Gulf of Mexico to El Paso, Texas, follows along the Rio Grande forming a natural barrier.
How tall is the border between US and Mexico?
The Mexico–United States border extends 3,145 kilometers (1,954 mi), in addition to the maritime boundaries of 29 kilometers (18 mi) into the Pacific Ocean and 19 kilometers (12 mi) into the Gulf of Mexico.
Does Mexico border Texas?
Texas and Mexico share 1,254 miles of common border and are joined by 28 international bridges and border crossings.
What is Title 42 at the border?
The program allows the US Border Patrol and US Customs and Border Protection to prohibit the entry of persons who potentially pose a health risk by being subject to previously-announced travel restrictions or because by unlawfully entering the country to bypass health-screening measures.
Does Texas have border checkpoints?
The interior border checkpoint located 20 miles south of Falfurrias, Texas is one of 18 permanent interior checkpoints in Texas located 25-75 miles north of the Mexican border. Upon entering the checkpoint drivers and passengers are subject to questioning, canine searches, and possible detainment.
Why is Mexico not part of the United States?
Mexico shares a large land border with the United States, but is isolated from South America – a region that struggles to integrate into the global system and is essentially a giant island in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, from a strictly geographic point of view, Mexico lies firmly in North America.
Is Mexico in the United States Yes or no?
Mexico is a country found in North America. It is officially known as the United Mexican States. Mexico is located between the United States and Central America. It is a federal republic that covers an area of about 770,000 sq mi and has a population of slightly more than 120 million people.
What countries have border walls?
As of December 2021, border walls are located in the following nations: North Korea and South Korea; Hong Kong; South Africa and Mozambique; Egypt; Kuwait and Iraq; Spain; Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan; South Africa; Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan; Uzbekistan and Afghanistan; Botswana and Zimbabwe; India; Saudi Arabia and ...
Which state has the longest border with Mexico?
Texas. Texas has a boundary that stretches for 1,241 miles, the longest boundary between an American state and Mexico. Texas borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, Chihuahua, and Coahuila.
Construction of a wall was completed under Obama, and he's poised to spend millions more on sensors and cameras
U.S. workers build a section of the Mexico-U.S. border wall near the Jeronimo-Santa Teresa border crossing in Chihuahua.
Justin Elliott
Justin Elliott is a reporter for ProPublica. You can follow him on Twitter @ElliottJustin
How long was Obama's budget?
Obama’s budget record is measured over a 10-year period (despite an eight-year presidency) because the original January 2009 CBO baseline covered 10 years and therefore allows us to analyze the effects of the president’s policies over this longer period.
What was the most important budgetary development of the Obama era?
For those concerned about the nation’s long-term fiscal health, the most important budgetary development of the Obama era was not the stimulus spending, tax-cut extensions, or discretionary spending cuts. Instead, it was the failure to reform Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, the three entitlement programs that remain on course to swallow the federal budget.
How much is the national debt in 2009?
The national debt is set to end the 2009–19 period $5.9 trillion higher than had been estimated in January 2009. Even at a low 4% interest rate, this will require $235 billion in annual interest costs for as long as the debt exists.
How much was the deficit in 2009?
Upon taking office in January 2009, President Obama inherited a budget deficit that had soared from $161 billion in 2007 to a recession-slammed $1.186 trillion estimate for 2009. The January 2009 CBO baseline budget projection for 2009–19—which already incorporated the effects of the year-old recession in its projections—estimated that a strong economic recovery and the expiration of certain tax cuts would return the annual budget deficit to approximately $260 billion by 2012. In other words, the projections assumed that the high recessionary deficits would quickly fall back to earlier levels. Overall, CBO estimated that there would be $4.32 trillion in total budget deficits over the decade.
How much did Obama spend in 2013?
Obama’s 2013 budget proposes to spend $47 trillion over the next 10 years, the most in world history by far, increasing federal spending by $1.5 trillion above the current CBO baseline. Ryan’s budget proposes to cut that by $6.8 trillion.
How many appropriations bills did Obama pass in 2009?
As Bader also reports, “The Democrat Congress [in 2008], confident Obama was going to win in 2008, passed only three of fiscal 2009’s 12 appropriations bills (Defense, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Homeland Security ). The Democrat Congress passed the rest of them [in 2009], and [President] Obama signed them.”.
How much did the federal budget increase in 2008?
That budget shows federal spending increasing from $2.983 trillion in 2008 to an all time record $3.796 trillion in 2012, an increase of 27.3%. Moreover, before Obama there had never been a deficit anywhere near $1 trillion. The highest previously was $458 billion, or less than half a trillion, in 2008.
How much will Ryan's budget be in 2022?
By 2022, Ryan’s budget would be spending nearly a trillion dollars less per year than President Obama’s budget. Ryan proposes tax reform to consolidate the current 6 individual income tax rates, ranging up to 35%, to just two rates of 10% and 25%.
How much did Obama spend on the 2009 supplemental spending bill?
Obama worked with Pelosi’s Democratic Congress to pass an additional, $410 billion, supplemental spending bill for fiscal year 2009, which was too much even for big spending President Bush, who had specifically rejected it in 2008.
How much was the 2009 budget increase?
As Hans Bader reported on May 26 for the Washington Examiner, the budget approved and implemented by Pelosi, Obama and the rest of the Congressional Democrat majorities provided for a 17.9 percent increase in spending for fiscal 2009!
What was the federal spending rate in 1988?
Even with the Reagan defense buildup, which, remember, won the Cold War without firing a shot, total federal spending as a percent of GDP declined from a high of 23.5% of GDP in 1983 to 21.3% in 1988 and 21.2% in 1989.
How many miles of barrier have been built on the Mexican border?
In reality, not a single mile of new barrier has yet been built along the Mexican border. There were 654 miles of physical barrier on the day Trump was inaugurated president, and there are 654 miles today.
Who said there is no reason to pay for a wall?
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) returned to that promise on the Senate floor Thursday, pointing out that there is no reason American taxpayers should pay for a wall, given Trump’s campaign pledge.
When did Trump sign the appropriations package?
Trump signed an appropriations package in May 2017 even though it did not contain any of the $33 billion he had asked Congress to include for his wall, and then a series of temporary stopgap measures that also had no wall money.
Did Trump say Mexico would not pay for the wall?
In a phone call with then-Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto within days of taking office, Trump said he understood that Mexico would not pay for the wall, but asked Peña Nieto not to say that publicly to avoid creating political problems for Trump with his base.
Is not having a wall better for Trump?
He added that not having a wall is actually better for Trump politically because it allows him to continue bashing Democrats and establishment Republicans over the next two years as well as serving as a useful diversion should special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation start getting too close to him.
How many miles of border wall were there at the end of Obama's administration?
At the end of the Obama-Biden administration there were 654 miles of border wall. At the end of the Biden-Harris administration there should be none. Scott Nicol is the coauthor of a pair of reports about border walls, titled Death, Damage and Failure: Past, Present, and Future Impacts of Walls on the U.S.-Mexico Border.
What are the walls that Trump blasted through?
The walls that the Trump administration blasted through the Peloncillo mountains, that scar the San Bernardino valley, and that cut across wild landscapes all across the southern border, bring the movement of wildlife to a dead stop.
How tall are the border walls?
President Biden will inherit the 30-foot-tall border walls that the Trump administration has run through lands sacred to the O’odham and Kumeyaay peoples have already inflicted terrible damage.
What percentage of the federal budget was spent on national security in 2015?
In 2010, national security spending made up 20.1% of the federal budget, but in 2015 it was roughly 15.9%. Over that same period, spending declined from 4.6% of gross domestic product to 3.3%. The reason for this is two-fold. The Obama administration's decision to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq and Afghanistan caused defense spending to drop.
How much has Obama cut the nuclear arsenal?
Over the last six years, Obama has cut the nuclear arsenal by 10%, which trails his predecessor, George W. Bush, who cut the number of nukes by 50%. is the Deputy Editor of Task & Purpose and a Marine veteran.
What is national security spending?
National security spending includes the Pentagon’s budget as well as spending by other agencies, like the Department of Energy’s work on nuclear weapons. On the whole, spending increased in 2010 and 2011, but decreased every year for four straight years by a cumulative 15%, write Jacobson and Sherman.
What was the issue in the 2016 presidential election?
Between the rise of the Islamic State, Russia’s proxy war in Ukraine, and tensions in the South China Sea, national security and military spending is shaping up to be a key issue in the 2016 presidential election.
Has Obama cut nuclear weapons?
has reduced the number of its warheads, the government is in the process of modernizing its equipment. Obama has cut the number of nuclear weapons by a smaller percentage than any other American president since the Cold War ended, according to an analysis by Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at ...
How much did Reagan increase the defense budget?
Reagan also increased the defense budget by 35%. 5 . George W. Bush (2001-2009): President Bush added $6.1 trillion, or a 101% increase, putting him in fourth. Bush launched the War on Terror in response to the 9/11 attacks, which led to multi-trillion-dollar spending on the War in Afghanistan and the Iraq War.
Which president had the largest percentage increase to the debt?
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945): President Roosevelt had the largest percentage increase to the debt. Although he only added $236 billion, this was a nearly 1,050% increase from the $22.5 billion debt level left by President Herbert Hoover.
How much did Trump add to the debt?
Trump added $6.7 trillion to the debt since Obama's last budget, a 33.1% increase due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) predicted that the pandemic would raise the FY 2020 deficit by $2.2 trillion and the FY 2021 deficit by $0.6 trillion. 9.
How to measure a president's debt?
The best way to measure a president's debt is to add up their budget deficits and compare that total to the debt level when they took office. A president's budget reveals their administration's priorities. The deficit by president reveals how much deficit was in each year's budget.
How much did the Great Depression cost FDR?
The Great Depression and the New Deal contributed to FDR's yearly deficits, but the biggest cost was World War II: It added $186.3 billion to the debt between 1942 and 1945. 4 . Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921): President Wilson was the second-largest contributor to the debt, percentage-wise.
How much did Ronald Reagan add to the national debt?
He added $21 billion, which was a 724% increase over the $2.9 billion debt of his predecessor. World War I contributed to the deficits that raised the national debt. 4 . Ronald Reagan (1981-1989): President Reagan increased the debt by $1.85 trillion, or by 186%.
How much does a security fence cost?
A security fence costs $30 to $60 per foot and is typically constructed from steel, iron, wire mesh, chain link, or a combination of metal. For the average home, expect to spend between $4,500 and $9,000 on security fencing.
How much does it cost to build a fence on 1 acre?
The cost to fence 1 acre runs a minimum of $1,050 and a maximum of $33,400 with most homeowners spending an average price of $2,016 to $9,011. The cheapest backyard fence is barbed wire which costs as little as $1,050 an acre, wheres a split rail wood fence costs about $7,000 for 1 acre.
How much does a wood picket fence cost?
A wood picket fence costs between $1,500 and $2,100, with most spending $10 to $14 per foot on average. Picket fences are the epitome of the American dream. You can quickly put one up around your yard by using fence panels, which you can get in a variety of materials.
How much does a quarter mile of barbed wire cost?
Prices below take into account the labor required to build the fence, fence posts, staples, and assorted hardware. A quarter mile of barbed wire fence costs $1.47 installed.
How to build a fence cheaply?
The cheapest way to build a fence is in straight lines. Building a square or rectangular fence will cost less than building a fence with lots of corners and obstacles. Every corner post and turn of the fence will add labor and materials costs. Corner posts and line posts are more significant than a fence board and cost more. A fence with multiple corners and little out-of-the-way areas is appealing to the eye, but more costly too.
How much does it cost to install a fence?
Fence installation costs $1,500 to $3,000 for an average yard with most homeowners spending about $1,800. New fencing costs $5 to $16 per linear foot, or about $2,016 to $9,011 for 1 acre. Prices depend on the type of fence materials used and the length and height of the fence.
How much does it cost to install a wrought iron fence?
A wrought iron fence costs $24 to $44 per foot to install on average. For a standard backyard of 150 linear feet, cost estimates are between $3,600 and $6,600. A wrought iron fence looks classy, and it will last nearly forever. It won’t rot or decay, and it is impervious to insect damage.
