Where money for wall might come from

WASHINGTON — Now that President Donald Trump has declared an emergency to build a border wall with Mexico, he still needs money to pay for it. White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said Friday that the money to fund the wall will come from several different sources.

Forfeiture funds

Trump plans to spend $600 million from the Treasury Department’s forfeiture funds, which U.S. News & World Report said is made up of proceeds from cash, cars and other property forfeited during investigations.

Military construction

The military construction account that’s used to upgrade bases and facilities will provide about $3.6 billion, officials said Friday. Congressional aides said there is $21 billion available. That includes about $10 billion in funds from the current 2019 fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, and $11 billion remaining from the previous four years. But tapping the military construction money also may hit resistance.

The money often goes for improvements to housing, roads, hospitals and other facilities, and can be used to eliminate mold or other hazardous problems at military installations in congressional districts across the nation and around the globe.

As an example, the aides said, there is funding for a medical facility at a U.S. base in Germany that has been partially constructed. If those funds were used, the medical center could be left unfinished.

The president can decide to use military construction funds, but it will be up to the Defense Department to determine which specific projects would lose their money, the aides said.

While the president has the authority to take the funds, the aides said that, according to the law, the money must be used in support of U.S. armed forces, and the key question is whether Trump could prove the funds were being spent to actually support troops.

Anti-drug account

Potentially easier to tap is the military’s counter drug account, so-called Section 284 money, as suggested by Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., a Trump ally and leader of the conservative Freedom Caucus.

That fund will provide about $2.5 billion, which exceeds what is in that account for this fiscal year by about $1.5 billion. The Defense Department would need to redirect the difference from other parts of its budget.

Using that money does not require declaration of a national emergency.

Disaster aid

One move that is off limits is shifting a portion of the $13 billion in disaster aid Congress approved last year for Puerto Rico and a dozen states, including California and Texas, hit hard by hurricanes, flooding and other disasters.

The money funds Army Corps projects, and the Puerto Rico aid alone totals more than $2 billion.

Texas lawmakers revolted over White House plans to tap Hurricane Harvey funds, and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said they won assurances from the White House that the money won’t be used for the wall.