Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is currently conducting a cost-benefit analysis related to President Donald Trump’s proposed security wall along the nation’s southwest border and that a life-cycle cost estimate for the structure is also being prepared, the president’s nominee to run the day-to-day operations of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said at her confirmation hearing on Wednesday.
“That analysis is in progress to my understanding and I can commit to you senator that if confirmed I will use that analysis moving forward,” Elaine Duke told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in response to questions from Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), the ranking member on the panel.
In response to press reports that the White House Office of Management and Budget is proposing that DHS make hefty cuts in the FY ’18 budget request to the Coast Guard, Transportation Security Administration, and Federal Emergency Management Agency to begin paying for the border security wall and more Border Patrol agents and immigration officers, McCaskill asked Duke if any analysis has been done on the tradeoffs between the potential cuts and the security benefits of a wall.
Duke replied that she hasn’t “been involved in those discussions but if confirmed I will be looking at the budget and that would be a major part of my role as the chief operating officer.”
McCaskill said during the hearing that DHS is moving forward with plans for adding to a physical wall along the southern border without a cost-benefit analysis and examining the life-cycle costs of the program.
Duke is a former undersecretary of management at DHS and served the last eight years of her 28 years of public service in the federal government with the department, retiring in 2010. Duke has been widely praised for her managerial qualifications to become the deputy secretary at DHS and is expected to receive bipartisan support at her confirmation vote.
DHS any day is expected to release a solicitation for prototype wall structures that would be constructed along the U.S. border with Mexico. The department has also released a Request for Information to solicit ideas from industry and other partners for a comprehensive long-term strategy related to a security wall along the southern border.
Duke said that the RFI will help DHS obtain industry input on the life-cycle cost analysis for the wall. She also said that the prototypes will allow for testing to make sure the structures are effective in securing the border and are sustainable before deploying.
McCaskill also complained that the approximately 650 miles of existing physical barriers and walls along the southwest border contain gaps where land acquisition hasn’t been settled. She said these gap areas are guarded around the clock by Border Patrol agents, which adds to the current operations and life-cycle cost of the existing wall.
Duke replied that she doesn’t know if land acquisition cost issues have been factored into wall construction expenses but acknowledged that is “an important concern” and will be addressed if a wall is constructed. She also said that potential legal costs related to the wall are part of a “valid cost” in estimating the life-cycle funding needs of the wall.
Regarding DHS acquisition processes overall, Duke said there needs to be good requirements behind operational needs before products are acquired. She also said the chief acquisition officer has to maintain “consistent oversight” of acquisition programs. She also said that if confirmed she would look to “modular approaches to acquisition rather than trying to buy these big huge fixes that are too complex to deploy effectively.”