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February 3, 2021 By cs

Border wall construction paused, contracts and funding under review

President Biden paused construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall and ordered a review of its contracts and funding, hours after being sworn in on Jan. 20. 
Photo credit: DoD

The border wall was a signature of President Trump who made strict immigration policies a cornerstone of his administration.  However, many viewed the wall as a waste of taxpayer resources and symbolism for xenophobia.  Biden’s executive order on the border wall was one of the first he signed on Wednesday evening and one of several aimed at reversing the Trump administration’s immigration agenda.

“Like every nation, the United States has a right and a duty to secure its borders and protect its people against threats. But building a massive wall that spans the entire southern border is not a serious policy solution,” said the executive order.   “It is a waste of money that diverts attention from genuine threats to our homeland security.  My administration is committed to ensuring that the United States has a comprehensive and humane immigration system that operates consistently with our nation’s values.”

The order terminated the national emergency for the Southern border that Trump issued on February 15, 2019, shortly after the end of the longest shutdown in history, which resulted from differences over funding for the wall.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.govexec.com/management/2021/01/biden-pauses-construction-border-wall/171548/

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: Army Corps of Engineers, border wall, contract termination, Customs and Border Patrol, Customs and Border Protection, DHS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement

February 28, 2020 By cs

DHS waives contracting rules for border wall

The Department of Homeland Security will waive traditional contracting rules to expedite construction of a wall along sections of the four states on the southern border.

According to a Federal Register notice published Feb. 20, DHS is looking to accelerate the tempo of construction projects in targeted sections of the planned border wall through a broad waiver or requirements of the use of open competition, pricing data, wage determination and other aspects of the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

In a Feb. 18 appearance on Fox and Friends, Chad Wolf said a section of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, gives DHS the authority to waive the rules to expedite contracting for the wall.  Wolf said the agency has used the same authority to waive environmental rules.

Keep reading this article at: https://fcw.com/articles/2020/02/18/dhs-waives-border-wall-wolf.aspx

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: Army Corps of Engineers, border wall, cost and pricing data, DHS, environment, FAR, full and open competition, Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, other than full and open competition, wage rates, waiver

May 17, 2017 By AMK

Border agency says it has picked finalists to design Trump’s wall

The federal government said Friday that it has settled on finalists to design President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall with Mexico, but it won’t identify them.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it will notify finalists over the next several days. It won’t say how many there are, but it has said previously that it would pick up to 20 for contracts expected to be valued between $200,000 and $500,000.

An agency document released last month by Senate Democrats says authorities plan to select winners by June 14 to build prototypes in San Diego on a short stretch of land near the Otay Mesa border crossing with Mexico.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-12/border-agency-says-it-has-picked-finalists-to-design-wall

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: border wall, Customs and Border Protection, design, design-build, fast track, prototyping, selection criteria

May 15, 2017 By AMK

Bidders question handling of border-wall project

The federal government has said it will narrow this week the list of companies in the running to build prototypes of a U.S.-Mexico border wall.

But some bidders expressed skepticism about the process, if the government’s goal — as President Trump promised — is to build a wall along the 1,900-mile border.

“From the beginning it’s not a serious process, it’s not going to get the wall built,” Michael Hari said of the process. His Illinois-based company, Crisis Resolution Security Services, submitted a design inspired by the Great Wall of China.

“Right from the get-go there were conflicts, there was not enough time given to it, to develop a reasonable process that would result in a wall getting built,” he said.

The bumps along the way have been documented.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection extended the initial deadline to submit designs three times. It also amended seven times the two requests for proposals in order to fix errors and elaborate on aspects of the project.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/05/09/not-serious-process-bidders-question-handling-border-wall-project/315253001/

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: addenda, border wall, change order, Customs and Border Protection, design, design-build, fast track, prototyping

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