Report: Border Patrol Homes Cost $680,000 Each

[fr33]

The federal government wasted millions of dollars in building a housing project for Border Patrol agents in Arizona near the Mexican border, spending nearly $700,000 per house in a small town where the average home costs less than $90,000, a watchdog report found.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/report-border-patrol-homes-cost-680000-25443647

 

[kcchiefs6465]

Shocking.

 

[Origanalist]

"CBP relies on the private housing market to provide housing for its employees, except in a few extreme locations such as Ajo," the agency said in a statement released by spokesman Jim Burns. "In Ajo, CBP built urgently needed housing for employees in accordance with the approved CBP design standards and the U.S. government guidance to be used by executive agencies concerning construction of federally owned housing for civilians."

He added the agency remains committed to providing quality, cost-effective housing to frontline border security personnel and their families.

The report says Customs and Border Protection did not "adequately justify" hiring the U.S. General Services Administration, a government agency, to manage the project, and that it overpaid the agency by about $3 million in unspent funds.

CBP also increased funding for the project seven times without providing reasons for the increases or explaining how the money was spent.

The government plans to build more houses in Lukeville, which is near Ajo.