Under Fire, Napolitano Halts New Border Construction Projects

By EILEEN SULLIVAN, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) – Facing criticism for her handling of federal stimulus money, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says she’s halting any new border construction projects and will review how her department made funding decisions.

Napolitano has faced questions since The Associated Press reported the department ignored its internal priority lists when deciding which border stations to renovate. Tiny checkpoints in Montana and North Dakota got millions of dollars while busy, higher-priority checkpoints were passed over.

A senior Senate Democrat, Byron Dorgan, said Wednesday that Napolitano had failed to convince him those decisions were proper and called for a halt to the program. He said Homeland Security treated the stimulus like a bottomless pit of taxpayer money.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)