Two Republicans Push ‘Border Bonds’ to Let Americans Finance a Wall

(Bloomberg) -- Two Republican U.S. lawmakers are turning to a World War I-era financial tactic to break the impasse over President Donald Trump's demand for money to build a wall along the Mexican border.

Representatives Steven Palazzo of Mississippi and Andy Harris of Maryland, both members of the House Appropriations Committee, introduced the Border Bonds for America Act of 2019 -- a law that would allow Americans to buy such securities from the U.S. The money would be put in a trust fund and used just to build a wall along the nearly 2,000 mile (3,200 kilometer) border.

The tactic echoes the Liberty Bond program, which appealed to Americans' sense of patriotism to raise funds during World War I.

But the bill is likely to go nowhere in the Democrat-led House, and a majority of voters are squarely opposed to building a wall, according to a Quinnipiac University poll. And even those who back Trump may not want to part with their own money to finance it: A GoFundMe effort to raise money for the nearly $6 billion project raised a little over $20 million.

To contact the reporter on this story: Danielle Moran in New York at dmoran21@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Crombie at jcrombie8@bloomberg.net, William Selway, Michael B. Marois

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