Millions spent on small border stations justified

By EILEEN SULLIVAN Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration's plan to spend tens of millions of dollars upgrading little-used border checkpoints ahead of busier ones is transparent, practical, thoughtful and thorough, according to an internal review.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano ordered the review in response to concerns that too much economic recovery money was being spent on small northern border crossings, while larger facilities that see more traffic were passed over.

An independent panel she named found that the administration was constrained by requirements Congress put in the stimulus law, resulting in funding for checkpoints which are not considered high priorities on the government's master list of the nation's 163 border crossings.

The department refuses to publicly release its priority lists or its justifications for deviating from it.

The Associated Press reported in August that despite Obama's promises that the $787 billion stimulus plan would be transparent and free of politics, the government is handing out $720 million for border upgrades under a process that is secretive and thus susceptible to political influence. Two powerful Democratic senators took credit for persuading the administration to direct money to border crossings in their home state, Montana.

This process allowed low-priority projects such as a checkpoint in Whitetail, Mont., to skip ahead of more pressing concerns, according to documents shared with The AP.

The internal review found that the funding process was so practical, thoughtful and thorough, the team had only one concern, described as a minor one: Some of the designs included nonessential costs that it did not specify. If these nonessential costs were removed from the plan, the taxpayer's money would be better spent, the report said.

Savings have already been realized, the report said, because project costs have been less expensive than originally calculated.

But North Dakota Sen. Byron Dorgan, a Democrat, said spending more than $10 million to tear down and rebuild these facilities will be a waste of taxpayer dollars.

Dorgan's concerns prompted the internal review.

"I just strongly disagree with this decision," Dorgan said. Nine of the checkpoints getting stimulus dollars are in North Dakota.

Dorgan said he will ask Congress' investigative arm to do its own review of the of the plan.

The independent review panel, made of officials from DHS, the Transportation Security Administration, the State Department and the Executive Office of the President, visited three northern border crossings during its 30 days of research, including Whitetail.

The Whitetail checkpoint sees an average of five vehicles a day and is set to receive $15 million in stimulus dollars. Five officers operate the border station in two shifts. The traffic in Whitetail increases during hay season, the report said.

A checkpoint in Laredo, Texas, however, which serves more than 55,000 travelers and 4,200 trucks a day, is rated among the government's highest priorities but was passed over for stimulus money.

This is because of the requirements Congress set for stimulus spending, the administration said.

Congress set aside separate pools of money for large and small border stations. That guaranteed smaller crossings would receive money it otherwise would not.

An Oct. 26 report by Homeland Security's inspector general said the department generally had a good spending plan for its stimulus-funded border projects. But department officials told the inspector general not to go further and review anything beyond its spending plan. The department said it was doing its own internal review.