Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act of 2025

Madam Speaker, I thank Representative Burlison for yielding me time and for his support of this important legislation, H.R. 1722, the Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act.

I also offer special thanks to my fellow Iowan, Senator Joni Ernst, who is leading this bill in the Senate. She has been a true champion when it comes to exposing Washington's waste and protecting the hard- earned dollars of the American people.

Madam Speaker, Washington's worst-kept secret is its prolific spending problem. Families in Iowa and all across this country have to balance their checkbooks every single month. They budget. They plan, and when money is tight, they make it work or they do without.

Washington should be held to that very same standard, especially at a time when our national debt is inching toward $400 trillion. However, instead of accountability, we get boondoggles.

Take Governor Newsom's high-speed rail in California. It was supposed to cost $33 billion and connect Los Angeles to San Francisco by 2020. Today, it is more than $95 billion over budget and years behind schedule.

After more than a decade and billions of taxpayer dollars, they are only now beginning to lay track, and the promised line between Los Angeles and San Francisco is nowhere in sight. What the people were promised and what they got are two very different things.

However, it is not just California. In Honolulu, a rail project is $4.8 billion over budget, with its completion slipping from 2020 all the way to 2031. In Columbus, a corridor project is 19 years behind schedule. The Federal Reserve's renovation ballooned to nearly $2.5 billion. Air Force One is billions over budget and years behind. The VA's electronic health records system, meant to serve our veterans, tripled from $16 billion to nearly $50 billion.

Madam Speaker, these are not rounding errors. These are betrayals of the people who have paid for them.

That is why I introduced the Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act. It is simple. It requires the Federal Government to publicly disclose any taxpayer-funded project that is more than $1 billion over budget or more than 5 years behind schedule. No more hiding and no more burying the failures where no one can find them. Sunlight, as they say, is the best disinfectant.

Here is the truth: The American people have a right to know where their money goes. Every dollar Washington wastes is a dollar taken from a farmer in Iowa, a nurse working a double shift, or a young family trying to get ahead.

I did not come to Washington to protect its comfortable habit of wasting taxpayer money. I came here to defend the people who pay the bills. This bill puts them front and center where they belong.

I thank Senator Ernst once again for her partnership, and I urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this commonsense legislation.

The people of Iowa are watching. The people of America are watching. Let's give them the transparency they deserve.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1722) to require an annual report of taxpayer-funded projects that are over budget and behind schedule, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, Congress cannot sit on the sidelines while government projects continue to soar above cost projections and run behind schedule.

Each year, the Government Accountability Office reports on such projects, including Federal information technology programs and National Nuclear Security Administration projects. However, there are likely additional government boondoggles flying under the radar, falling years behind schedule, or running billions of dollars over budget.

The Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act will keep policymakers and the public better informed about government-funded projects that are significantly behind schedule or over budget.

We cannot fix what we do not know is broken. This bill directs agencies to report on projects that are more than 5 years behind schedule or have expenditures that are at least $1 billion more than the original cost estimate. The Office of Management and Budget is then required to submit an annual report to Congress summarizing these troubled Federal projects.

Congress has a duty to oversee the Federal Government for inefficiency and waste. This bill informs policymakers and allows Congress to address failing government projects before further taxpayer dollars are misused.

A similar bill passed the House in the 118th Congress as S. 1258, and the identical bill, S. 766, sponsored by Senator Joni Ernst, passed the Senate in December 2025.

I thank Representatives Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Yassamin Ansari for their work on the House companion bill. It is time to get this bill sent to the President's desk.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Iowa (Mrs. Miller-Meeks).

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important bipartisan and bicameral government reform bill that will ensure the necessary oversight of the over-budget and behind-schedule Federal projects that take place.

Only when Congress and the public have better visibility into these mismanaged government projects will we be able to avoid such boondoggles in the future.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I, too, rise in support of H.R. 1722, the Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act of 2025.

Congress has a duty to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent efficiently, transparently, and with real accountability for results, but Federal programs often fall behind schedule or go way over budget without Congress' knowledge.

This bill would require that Congress be notified of any project that is more than 5 years behind schedule or $1 billion over budget. The report would include explanations of any changes to the project scope, cost estimate, or completion date.

This will help Congress perform critical oversight on behalf of the American people. It will also keep projects on time and on budget. This is a bipartisan fix to increase fiscal responsibility.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close. I thank the sponsor of the bill. I urge my colleagues to support it, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 254, S. 766.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.