The 738 number, is the total of the specific planned miles, for which funding has been transferred into their accounts.
As they say, a vision without funding, is just an hallucination.
Once the money is on hand, things get real, and those miles that those funds are budgeted against get included in the report. Contracting (pre-construction) does not begin until the money is on hand - then they are authorized to ask vendors to prepare bids (which costs them money).
All of the Southern Border has been analyzed, and it has been divided into segments, which have been carefully prioritized, and costs have been estimated. More segments have been identified, that Border Patrol would like built, but they are waiting for additional funds to arrive.
Early this year, the Administration announced plans to divert $3.6 billion from this year’s (FY20) MILitary CONstruction (MILCON) account, to the Wall Program. Those funds have not yet been transferred. They are earmarked for specific segments on the priority list. As soon as that money is transferred, all those miles will enter pre-construction.
I believe they are waiting for the Contracting folks to use up most of the funds they already have on account by awarding contracts, before transferring the rest.
Once the money has been transferred (or actually spent on an advance payment on a contract award), it could be construed as a cause of action to initiate another lawsuit. So that might be a cause for delaying the transfer, until its really needed.
Thanks for the feedback.
I meant the question to more rhetorical than anything, but I
appreciate your comments.
They sounded reasoned.