Report Faults Fast-Tracked Border Wall Contract Process

摘要

In a push to build more than 450 miles of U.S.-Mexico border wall by the end of 2020 after former President Donald Trump's 2019 emergency order, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers expedited work with a contracting approach that boosted risks of higher project costs, the U.S. Government Accountability Office says in a new report. The Corps used various authorities to start work quickly, including contract awards without "full and open competition" and began work before defining key requirements, GAO says. The U.S. watchdog agency analyzed 39 construction contracts worth $10.6 billion awarded between October 2017 and September 2020 using U.S. Defense Dept. and Homeland Security Dept. funds. Some DOD funds were set to expire, says GAO, so the tight contract award period led the Corps to depart from a planned acquisition approach. It had plans to award $11 billion in border construction contracts over five years. But about $9 billion worth was awarded soon after the Trump order, leading to the $10.6 billion total by September 2020.