Pentagon’s $2.5 Billion Border Contracts Went to Three Companies

Virtually all of the $2.5 billion the Pentagon has contracted so far for border barrier construction has been awarded to just three companies, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Contracts totaling $2.48 billion for 129 miles of barriers were awarded in recent months to Southwest Valley Constructors of New Mexico; SLS Company, Ltd. of Texas; and Bfbc LLC of Montana. The Pentagon said the remainder of the $2.5 billion would be obligated by the end of this month.

The projects are the first tranche of the military’s efforts to help build President Donald Trump’s border wall. The funding was pulled from various areas of the Pentagon budget earlier this year, including recruiting, and is separate from an additional $3.6 billion taken from military construction projects across the country.

People work on the U.S./ Mexican border wall on Feb. 12, 2019 in El Paso, Texas.

Photographer: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Southwest Valley Constructors won the lion’s share with contracts worth $1.3 billion for three border projects in Arizona, according to the Army Corps, which is managing construction for the Pentagon.

The company, which directed a request for comment back to the Army Friday, has also done border work for the Department of Homeland Security and is a subsidiary of Kiewit Corp., an international construction and mining company that claimed $9 billion in revenue last year.

SLS Company was awarded $738 million for 46 miles of border construction in New Mexico, and Bfbc LLC won a total of $440 million for a total of 20 miles in California and Arizona.

All of the contracts were signed in April and May, the Army Corps said.

Public Lands Transfers

The Trump administration is now working to transfer public lands to the Pentagon so it can begin contracting for a second tranche of border projects paid for with $3.6 billion pulled from other military construction projects, including Puerto Rico hurricane recovery, deterrence of Russia in Europe, and military schools.

That construction could still be months in the future, a Pentagon spokesman said earlier this month.

But the move has sparked strong bipartisan opposition in Congress, where lawmakers on both sides of the aisle face losing millions of dollars in military projects in their states and districts. Democrats say the president made an end run after Congress rejected his requests for border wall money over the winter, triggering a government shutdown.

For the second time, Congress voted Friday to rescind Trump’s national emergency declaration from February that provides the legal authority for the Pentagon to spend the $3.6 billion.

The president vetoed the earlier legislation and is expected to do the same this time.