Congress wants a wall. The only point of debate is just how long it will be. Two competing bills &8212; one in the House and one in the Senate &8212; would fund construction of a wall across the U.S.-Mexico border. The difference is in the length.

One plan calls for a 700-mile wall; the other would be approximately half that.

Fence construction is estimated to cost approximately $3 million per mile. That could total more than $2 billion and that may be conservative since government contracts tend to grow during their implementation.

We&8217;re all for border security. In fact, we&8217;ve preached that our borders have been neglected for years and years. Furthermore, we&8217;ve said that even after the Sept. 11 wake-up call, our country has done little to bolster our nation&8217;s borders.

However, let&8217;s make sure the group challenged with protecting our borders actually wants the wall. Congress has a nasty habit of throwing money at a problem without really asking anyone in the know whether the money is being spent wisely.

Remember, these are the same folks who last year agreed to spend millions of dollars &8212; read political pork &8212; on bridges to nowhere in Alaska.

Perhaps building a fixed wall will just encourage would-be border jumpers to simply shift their crossing points. If so, then perhaps that money would be better spent on people and equipment instead of a fixed structure.

Building a wall might be necessary, but before we break out the steel and concrete, let&8217;s ask the Border Patrol exactly what they need.