House Armed Services chairman working on bill to restore Pentagon funding taken for border wall

The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee is working on a bill to “claw back” the $3.8 billion the Pentagon is redirecting from weapons programs to President Trump’s border wall, he said Thursday.

“I think we can absolutely pass a bill that says we appropriated this money for these purposes in the FY20 bill, you have taken it out of all these purposes and put it here, put it back,” Chairman Adam Smith (D-Wash.) told reporters.

“Time is of the essence, and I am right now working with leadership and others to try to get a piece of legislation to the floor as quickly as is possible,” Smith added. “They robbed the bank, and they are now running away with the money. We need to stop them before they get too far.”

On Wednesday, Senate Democrats introduced their own bill to reverse the Pentagon’s shifting of funds to the wall.

Earlier this month, the Pentagon notified Congress it was taking $3.8 billion from several programs and putting the money in its counter-drug fund to be used for Trump’s wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Among the programs that are losing money to the wall are the F-35 fighter jet, MQ-9 reaper drone, the P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol plane, the C-130J transport plane, the landing helicopter assault ship replacement, the expeditionary fast transport ship and unspecified equipment for the National Guard and reserves.

Smith said the bill he is working on would be separate from the annual defense policy bill, which he said would be “too late.” Lawmakers are expected to consider the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in the spring.

Smith said it’s “possible” Republicans could support a bill to force the Pentagon to put the money back, but that he “wouldn’t bet the mortgage on it.”

Specifically, Smith said he’s talking over bill language with the staff of Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), the ranking member on the Armed Services Committee.

On Wednesday, at a hearing with Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Joint Chief of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, Thornberry blasted the Trump administration for “substituting the judgment of the administration for the judgment of Congress.”

“I’m afraid that the result of this will be greater restrictions on the department’s ability to move money around to meet changing needs, and the country will suffer as a result,” Thornberry said.

After the hearing, Thornberry told reporters he would “look at a variety of options” to respond to the transfer, including restricting the Pentagon’s ability to reprogram funding.

Last year’s House-passed NDAA would have limited the Pentagon’s transfer authorities, but those restrictions were taken out of the final bill signed into law amid opposition from Republicans.

Asked Thursday about trying to restrict the Pentagon reprogramming authorities again, Smith said he was “not as clear on” whether he will take that path.