President Joe Biden is sending $26 million in federal funds back to a U.S. Navy shipyard in Virginia. The money had been diverted by President Donald Trump to pay for a wall along the Mexico border.
The Virginian-Pilot reported Monday that the shipyard money is a sliver of the $3.6 billion that Trump had moved from the Department of Defense to pay for the wall. The Biden Administration is now sending billions of dollars back to a series of military projects.
The Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth will use the $26 million to address numerous safety violations in one of its buildings. They include a lack of sprinklers, poor placement of fire alarms and no mass notification system.
“The prior Administration’s failure to repair this building has left military personnel working in a high risk environment and undermined Navy operations at the facility,” the White House said in a statement.
We're making it easier for you to find stories that matter with our new newsletter — The 4Front. Sign up here and get news that is important for you to your inbox.
The facility builds and repairs U.S. Navy ships. Its life raft inspection and repair operation is the only such facility on the East Coast.
