House committee chair calls for investigation into $400 million border wall contract
The chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security on Wednesday called for an investigation into a $400 million border wall contract awarded this week to North Dakota-based Fisher Sand and Gravel, a company President Trump personally urged military officials to hire.
In a letter to the Defense Department Office of Inspector General, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said there are reasons to be suspicious of the decision to bestow such a large contract on the company. Thompson cited Trump’s repeated promotion of Fisher to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and a recent visit by the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to a span of privately financed barrier the firm built outside El Paso.
“These actions raise concerns about the possibility of inappropriate influence on USACE’s contracting decision,” Thompson wrote. “Therefore, I am requesting that you review the award of this contract to ensure that the bid submitted by Fisher Sand and Gravel Co. met the solicitation standards and that USACE made the award in accordance with federal procurement law and regulations.”
On Monday, the Defense Department said the Army Corps had selected Fisher to build 31 linear miles of new border barrier across the southern edge of the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge near Yuma, Ariz.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/house-committee-chair-calls-for-investigation-into-400-million-border-wall-contract/2019/12/04/368e8a20-16bb-11ea-a659-7d69641c6ff7_story.html?wpisrc=al_news__alert-politics--alert-national&wpmk=1
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