WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th July, 2021) A detailed account of costs stemming from the Biden administration's decision to halt construction of a wall on the US-Mexico border was requested in a letter to Defense Department (DoD) CFO Michael McCord, Senior US House Budget Committee Republican Jason Smith said on Wednesday.
"The letter... requested the DoD provide a detailed explanation of the total amount of funds spent on litigation and settlement disputes related to border wall contracts, the total number of cancelled contracts, and the total amount of funds the Department intends to spend on settling canceled contracts," Smith said in a press release.
The letter marked the latest salvo in an ongoing efforts by House to exercise oversight related to a record surge of migrants crossing the border since President Joe Biden's inauguration in January, the release said.
In April, Smith and senior Republican on the US House Oversight Committee James Comer called on the Biden administration to explain plans to provide billions of Dollars to Northern Triangle countries without corresponding incentives to discourage migration, the release added.
The United States apprehended more than 180,000 migrants crossing the southern border in May, the highest monthly total in more than two decades, according to the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency.
One of President Biden's first acts as president was to halt construction of the border wall, a project championed by former President Donald Trump and dismissed by Democrats.
