30 Apr 2021
Former Trump administration lawyer Mark Paoletta told House Budget Committee ranking member Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO) Thursday that the Joe Biden administration violated the Impoundment Control Act by withholding federal funds for the border wall.
A veteran of Washington’s political battles, Paoletta served as general counsel of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the powerful White House agency in charge of all federal budgeting, spending, and regulatory actions. Now a senior fellow at the Center for Renewing America, he testified before the House Budget Committee’s hearing, “Protecting our Democracy: Reasserting Congress’ Power of the Purse.”
During the hearing, Smith and Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-PA) asked Paoletta about the Biden administration’s withholding of federal funds appropriated to construct the wall along the southern border. Biden froze border wall funds on his first day in office.
Biden Administration Cancels Border Contracts, Returns Funds to Pentagon
The administration is also looking to repair damage in border communities.
The Biden administration announced on Friday it’s canceling border wall contracts from the Trump administration, returning previously diverted funds and repairing damage to border communities.
President Biden issued a proclamation on January 20 to pause construction on former President Trump’s signature U.S.-Mexico border wall, to the extent legally allowed, and direct the Defense and Homeland Security secretaries, in consultation with the Treasury secretary, attorney general and Office of Management and Budget director and any other appropriate agency officials to create a “plan for redirecting funding and repurposing contracts.” Biden said the plan should be formulated “within 60 days from the date of this proclamation,” which was March 21, a deadline they missed.
Lawmakers Look to Crack Down on White House s Discretion in Allocating Agency Funding
Democrats decry unelected officials who make spending decisions in communities they do not understand.
Senior Correspondent
Lawmakers are renewing their push to restrict the flexibility the executive branch has in allocating and revoking federal funding, looking to claw back their power of the purse after what they identified as abuses by recent administrations.
The House Budget Committee held a hearing on strategies to reassert Congress power, with a panel of government and outside watchdogs largely agreeing that reforms are necessary. Lawmakers noted that cornerstone spending laws such as the Antideficiency Act and the Impoundment Control Act are toothless as the executive branch has ignored legal decisions issued by the Government Accountability Office to enforce them. The White House and agencies have issued interpretations of the laws that give themselves far more latitude t
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