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KEY VOTE ALERT: Vulnerable GOP Senators to Allow Raid on Home-State Military Projects

Vulnerable GOP Senators to support sham declaration again even though they “now know the specific projects in their states that are being scrapped to make way for Trump’s wall

The Senate will vote again today on the sham emergency declaration that allowed President Trump to raid $3.6 billion from urgently-needed military construction projects, including hundreds of millions of dollars from projects in key Senate battleground states. Vulnerable Republican Senators — including Thom Tillis (NC), Cory Gardner (CO), unelected Martha McSally (AZ), and John Cornyn (TX) — all voted to uphold the sham declaration earlier this year, paving the way for millions of dollars to be diverted from projects in their states. Six months later, they “now know the specific projects in their states that are being scrapped to make way for Trump’s wall.” As the administration prepares to try to raid even more funding, these vulnerable incumbents are dismissing dire warnings from the Pentagon and the Air Force while doubling down on their craven support for this reckless cash grab.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Washington Post: Senate to vote on Trump’s wall budget maneuver again, as offsets come into focus

By Erica Werner and Aaron Gregg 

September 25, 2019

Key Points:

  • The Senate on Wednesday will vote for the second time this year to overturn President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency at the Southern border — but with an important difference.
  • …senators now know the specific projects in their states that are being scrapped to make way for Trump’s wall. That creates new pressure for GOP senators, especially those up for re-election in 2020, to weigh their allegiance to Trump and his border wall against their support for much-needed projects at military bases and installations back home.
  • Thus far, though, such arguments appear to have done little to sway GOP senators who voted for Trump’s emergency declaration the first time around.
  • “How would I square voting differently?” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) asked reporters Tuesday, declaring he plans to vote once again to uphold Trump’s emergency declaration. Cornyn is up for re-election and his state is losing some $38.5 million in funds for projects in El Paso and San Antonio.
  • Some of the projects are in the home states of the GOP senators who are considered most vulnerable in their re-election fights, and Democratic campaign committees and challengers have already been making plans to use the issue against them.
  • In Arizona, where Republican Sen. Martha McSally faces a potentially difficult re-election, a $30 million project being canceled would have upgraded vehicle maintenance buildings that date back to the 1930s. The existing structures don’t comply with “life safety” standards, Army officials wrote in 2017, leaving U.S. servicemembers at risk.
  • Nevertheless, McSally intends to vote as she did in March to uphold the emergency declaration, and her spokeswoman Amy Lawrence said the senator has “no new concerns.”
  • In Colorado, where Republican Sen. Cory Gardner faces re-election in a competitive state, an $8 million project to create a Space Control Facility at Peterson Air Force Base has been cancelled. Gardner did not respond to reporters’ shouted questions on the topic as he entered a GOP lunch on Tuesday, and spokespeople did not respond to a request for comment.
  • And in North Carolina, where Republican Sen. Thom Tillis is up for re-election, $47 million is being canceled for projects including a healthcare facility for active duty Marines at Camp Lejeune. The existing facility “lacks basic requirements such as sinks, proper ventilation and exam rooms with doors,” defense officials wrote in 2017.
  • Tillis already faced pressure on the issue because before the March vote, he announced that he planned to oppose the national emergency declaration, only to reverse himself under pressure from Trump supporters in North Carolina.
  • At the time, Tillis said he was hopeful of being able to work with the Trump administration to update the National Emergencies Act. A spokesman said Tillis has been working on legislation that has passed the Senate’s Homeland Security committee to place greater constraints on the use of presidential emergency declarations. Tillis intends to vote Wednesday to uphold Trump’s border emergency.

Read the full story here.

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