#WILL HURD SMART WALL FULL#

“I would surmise that (the administration has) been thinking that a comprehensive plan is going to cost too much money,” Hurd told CNN. Where Trump's border rhetoric meets reality The sun sets through fencing along the Mexican border in Eagle Pass, Texas. Hurd’s bill would require DHS to figure out a technological solution first and come up with a complete strategy before moving forward. Hurd calculates that would cost $24.5 million per mile, and up to $33 billion in total across the border, whereas based on conversations he’s had with Anduril, he believes sensor technology, computer imaging and virtual reality headsets could offer a solution for half a million or less. The FY18 request for $1.6 billion would fund 74 miles of new construction. Since then, he has acknowledged that some areas along the path would be unsuitable for a wall for topographic reasons, and has acknowledged that agents want visibility through the wall, as opposed to something opaque.īut border state lawmakers and Congress have balked at funding his pledge – denying him money in fiscal year 2017 to begin construction and attempting in the House to tie funding for FY18 to a must-pass military spending package.ĭHS has also rejected congressional requests for a plan for what the end goal is or a comprehensive plan, saying instead they will go through an “iterative” process where some stretches are planned each year.

#WILL HURD SMART WALL FULL#

Trump made a Southern border wall a centerpiece of his campaign, calling for a massive concrete barrier along the full border with Mexico.

Brian Fitzpatrick and Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Steve Pearce, Pennsylvania Republican Rep. David Valadao, California Republican Rep. Henry Cuellar, a moderate on border issues, California Republican Rep. Hurd is joined by co-sponsors Democratic Texas Rep. “We haven’t looked at all 2,000 miles of our Southern border at the same time, and for the last eight years we’ve tried to have a one-size fits all solution to the border, and that doesn’t work.” “People that are dealing with this issue know that a third century solution to a 21st century problem is not going to fix this long term,” Hurd told CNN. His proposal estimates on the high side a solution of $500,000 per mile – far below the $24.5 million per mile price tag of the government’s fiscal year 2018 wall money request.

To back up the bill, Hurd has been using the estimates and insights of Anduril Industries, a Silicon Valley-based defense technology company founded by Luckey, who also founded Oculus VR. Will Hurd, whose Texas district has more than 800 miles of the Southern border, one-third of the total border with Mexico and more than any other single lawmaker. The “Secure Miles with All Resources and Technology Act,” or SMART Act, will be introduced Thursday morning by Republican Rep.

The move seeks to balance between President Donald Trump’s aggressive push for border security and reticence by moderates in Washington to commit to an expensive show of force that experts at the border question will actually be productive.

A coalition of border state lawmakers and moderates are looking to take charge of the wall debate – offering their own plan to build a “smart” wall that draws from the insight of Silicon Valley and virtual reality entrepreneur Palmer Luckey.

Will hurd smart wall