[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 118 (Monday, July 20, 2026)]
[House]
[Pages H4663-H4664]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BILLION DOLLAR BOONDOGGLE ACT
Mr. BURLISON. 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.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 1722
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Billion Dollar Boondoggle
Act''.
SEC. 2. ANNUAL REPORT.
(a) Definitions.--In this section--
(1) the term ``covered agency'' means--
(A) an Executive agency, as defined in section 105 of title
5, United States Code; and
(B) an independent regulatory agency, as defined in section
3502 of title 44, United States Code;
(2) the term ``covered project'' means a project funded by
a covered agency--
(A) that is more than 5 years behind schedule, as measured
against the original expected date for completion; or
(B) for which the amount spent on the project is not less
than $1,000,000,000 more than the original cost estimate for
the project;
(3) the term ``Director'' means the Director of the Office
of Management and Budget; and
(4) the term ``project'' means a major acquisition, a major
defense acquisition program (as defined in section 4201 of
title 10, United States Code), a procurement, a construction
project, a remediation or clean-up effort, or any other time-
limited endeavor, that is not funded through direct spending
(as defined in section 250(c) of the Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 900(c))).
(b) Requirements.--
(1) Submission.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director shall issue guidance
requiring covered agencies to, on an annual basis, submit to
the Director information relating to each covered project of
the covered agency, which shall include--
(A) a brief description of the covered project, including--
(i) the purpose of the covered project;
(ii) each location in which the covered project is carried
out;
(iii) the contract or award number of the covered project,
where applicable;
(iv) the year in which the covered project was initiated;
(v) the Federal share of the total cost of the covered
project; and
(vi) each primary contractor, subcontractor, grant
recipient, and subgrantee recipient of the covered project;
(B) an explanation of any change to the original scope of
the covered project, including by the addition or narrowing
of the initial requirements of the covered project;
(C) the original expected date for completion of the
covered project;
(D) the current expected date for completion of the covered
project;
(E) the original cost estimate for the covered project, as
adjusted to reflect increases in the Consumer Price Index for
All Urban Consumers, as published by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics;
(F) the current cost estimate for the covered project, as
adjusted to reflect increases in the Consumer Price Index for
All Urban Consumers, as published by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics;
(G) an explanation for a delay in completion or an increase
in the original cost estimate for the covered project,
including, where applicable, any impact of insufficient or
delayed appropriations; and
(H) the amount of and rationale for any award, incentive
fee, or other type of bonus, if any, awarded for the covered
project.
(2) Report.--The Director shall submit to Congress and post
on the website of the Office of Management and Budget an
annual report containing the information submitted under
paragraph (1) for the relevant year.
(3) Form.--The report required under paragraph (2) shall be
submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified
annex.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Missouri (Mr. Burlison) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr.
Subramanyam) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Missouri.
General Leave
Mr. BURLISON. 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.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Missouri?
There was no objection.
Mr. BURLISON. 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.
{time} 1710
Mr. SUBRAMANYAM. 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.
Mr. BURLISON. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman
from Iowa (Mrs. Miller-Meeks).
Mrs. MILLER-MEEKS. 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.
[[Page H4664]]
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.
Mr. SUBRAMANYAM. 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. BURLISON. 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.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Burlison) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 1722, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. BURLISON. 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.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.
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