On Wednesday, House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Pete Visclosky (D-IN) denied the Department of Defense’s request to use Defense funds for an unauthorized wall on the southern border of the United States. The U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power to appropriate funds for designated and authorized purposes, and the reprogramming process has been historically utilized to allow Congress to maintain this Constitutional responsibility and oversight of Executive Branch requests to adjust funds to meet operational needs. However, the Department of Defense has indicated that – for the first time ever – it intends to move forward with the reprogramming action despite the Appropriations Committee opposing the reprogramming.