[Senate Report 116-220]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                       Calendar No. 435


116th Congress  }                                           {    Report
                               SENATE                          
2d Session      }                                           {   116-220
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     

                                                       


                 BILLION DOLLAR BOONDOGGLE ACT OF 2019

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

                   COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND

                          GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                              to accompany

                                 S. 565

   TO REQUIRE THE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET TO 
 SUBMIT TO CONGRESS AN ANNUAL REPORT ON PROJECTS THAT ARE OVER BUDGET 
              AND BEHIND SCHEDULE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
              
              
              
              

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]




               March 2, 2020.--Ordered to be printed
                 
                 
                             ______
                          

              U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 
 99-010                 WASHINGTON : 2020                
                 
                 
                 
        COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                    RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin, Chairman
ROB PORTMAN, Ohio                    GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
RAND PAUL, Kentucky                  THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware
JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma             MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire
MITT ROMNEY, Utah                    KAMALA D. HARRIS, California
RICK SCOTT, Florida                  KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona
MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming             JACKY ROSEN, Nevada
JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri

                Gabrielle D'Adamo Singer, Staff Director
                   Joseph C. Folio III, Chief Counsel
       Patrick J. Bailey, Chief Counsel for Governmental Affairs
                 Caroline K. Bender, Research Assistant
               David M. Weinberg, Minority Staff Director
               Zachary I. Schram, Minority Chief Counsel
         Yelena L. Tsilker, Minority Professional Staff Member
                     Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
                     
                     
                     



                                                       Calendar No. 435
                                                       
116th Congress   }                                             {   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session      }                                             {  116-220

======================================================================



 
                 BILLION DOLLAR BOONDOGGLE ACT OF 2019

                                _______
                                

                 March 2, 2020.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Johnson, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
                    Affairs, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 565]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 565) to require the 
Director of the Office of Management and Budget to submit to 
Congress an annual report on projects that are over budget and 
behind schedule, and for other purposes, having considered the 
same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment in the nature 
of a substitute and recommends that the bill, as amended, do 
pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
  I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
 II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
III. Legislative History..............................................3
 IV. Section-by-Section Analysis......................................3
  V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................4
 VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................4
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............5

                         I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

    S. 565, the Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act of 2019, requires 
Federal agencies to include in one of several relevant annual 
reports to Congress a list of all projects that are $1 billion 
or more over budget or five years or more behind schedule. The 
purpose of this bill is to increase oversight with respect to 
projects that are over budget and behind schedule.

              II. BACKGROUND AND THE NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    According to the Bureau of Fiscal Service, as of December 
3, 2019, the total public debt outstanding is over $23 
trillion.\1\ The Federal deficit for Fiscal Year 2020 is 
projected to exceed $1 trillion.\2\ It is the responsibility of 
Congress to oversee the use of taxpayer dollars, and greater 
transparency strengthens the ability of Congress to reduce 
unnecessary costs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\U.S. Dep't of Treasury, The Debt to the Penny and Who Holds It 
(Dec. 4, 2019), https://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/debt/current.
    \2\Budget and Economic Data, Congressional Budget Office, https://
www.cbo.gov/about/products/budget-economic-data#3 (last visited Dec. 
10, 2019, 5:51 PM).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    On May 21, 2019, Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA), Chairman Ron 
Johnson (R-WI), and Ranking Member Gary Peters (D-MI) sent 
letters to the ten Federal agencies with the highest annual 
spending on contracts to gather information about projects that 
are $1 billion or more over budget or five years or more behind 
schedule.\3\ The information provided by the agencies 
demonstrated that only a few agencies have projects this 
severely over-budget or behind schedule.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\Letter from Joni Ernst, U.S. Senator, Ron Johnson, Chairman, S. 
Comm. on Homeland Sec. and Gov'l Affairs, and Gary Peters, Ranking 
Member, to the Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human 
Services, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Department of 
Transportation, Department of Homeland Security, Department of 
Agriculture, Department of Energy, Department of State, Department of 
Defense, and Department of Veterans Affairs (May 21, 2019) (on file 
with the Committee).
    \4\Various responses from Fed. agencies to S. Comm. on Homeland 
Sec. and Gov'l Affairs (on file with the Committee).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In their responses, agencies discussed a number of projects 
that are severely beyond budget or behind schedule.\5\ The list 
included computer systems funded by the Department of Homeland 
Security, new aircraft and weapons systems funded by the 
Department of Defense, clean-up projects funded by the 
Department of Energy, and renovation projects funded by the 
Department of Veterans Affairs, among others. In at least one 
case, a Department of Transportation project to establish a new 
bullet train, which was estimated to be over $1 billion over-
budget and 13 years behind schedule, was cancelled in May 
2019.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\Responses on file with Comm. staff.
    \6\Press Release, U.S. Dep't of Transportation, Federal Railroad 
Administration, ``Statement of Federal Railroad Administration on 
Termination of FY `10 Grant Agreement with California High-Speed Rail 
Authority'' (May 16, 2019) (on file with author).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Not all projects meeting these requirements should be 
discontinued. For instance, there could have been funding 
delays, miscalculations or unforeseen challenges arising for an 
innovative project, or even expansions to a project to meet 
emerging needs. However, if a project is missing deadlines or 
costing significantly more than originally estimated, Congress 
should be updated so the members can assess if mismanagement or 
fraud is taking place. Congress may also respond by passing 
legislation to address the underlying causes of the cost 
overruns and delays.
    The Nunn-McCurdy Act, included as part of the Department of 
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1983, required the 
Department of Defense (DOD) to report to Congress whenever a 
Major Defense Acquisition Program (MDAP) experiences 
significant cost overruns.\7\ There were 37 cases reported to 
Congress between 2007 and 2015.\8\ The Congressional Research 
Service noted, ``As a result of the Nunn-McCurdy process, 
Congress has substantial visibility into the cost performance 
of the acquisition stage of MDAPs that experience certain 
levels of cost growth. To the extent that Nunn-McCurdy 
increases visibility into--and an understanding of what 
causes--cost growth, the act can help efforts to improve weapon 
system acquisitions,'' and, in a few cases, even resulted in a 
program being canceled.\9\ That cost transparency principle is 
equally important for other Executive agencies.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \7\Department of Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1983 
(P.L. 97-252) (1982), codified at 10 U.S.C. Sec.  2433 (1982).
    \8\Moshe Schwartz and Charles V. O'Connor, Cong. Research Serv., 
R41293, The Nunn-McCurdy Act: Background, Analysis, and Issues for 
Congress (May 12, 2016).
    \9\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act of 2019, as amended, 
requires Federal agencies to report annually a list of all 
projects that are $1 billion or more over budget or five years 
or more behind schedule. Additionally, this bill specifies that 
the term ``project'' refers to time-limited endeavors, such as 
major acquisitions or clean-up efforts, and does not include 
mandatory spending. This bill allows agencies to simply include 
the requested information in one of several relevant annual 
reports in lieu of publishing an entire separate report to 
Congress. With the requirement to report to Congress, agencies 
will more easily identify projects which are severely over 
budget or behind schedule. Therefore, both Congress and 
agencies will be better suited to manage taxpayer dollars.

                        III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) introduced S. 565, the Billion 
Dollar Boondoggle Act of 2019, on February 26, 2019, with 
Senator Mike Braun (R-IN) and Senator Rand Paul (R-KY). The 
bill was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs. Senator James Lankford (R-OK), Ranking 
Member Peters (D-MI), and Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) later 
joined as cosponsors.
    The Committee considered S. 565 at a business meeting on 
November 6, 2019. During the business meeting, a substitute 
amendment was offered by Chairman Johnson and Ranking Member 
Peters and adopted by unanimous consent. The bill, as amended, 
was ordered reported favorably by voice vote en bloc. Senators 
Johnson, Portman, Paul, Lankford, Romney, Scott, Enzi, Hawley, 
Peters, Carper, Hassan, Sinema, and Rosen were present for the 
vote.

        IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE BILL, AS REPORTED

Section 1. Short title

    This section establishes short title of the bill as the 
``Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act of 2019.''

Section 2. Annual report

    This section requires the Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget to provide guidance to agencies for 
reporting annually on projects which are more than five years 
behind schedule or more than $1 billion over their original 
budget. The terms ``covered agency,'' ``covered project'' and 
``project'' are defined here. The section further specifies the 
annual reporting requirements, including a brief description of 
a covered project and other required contents of each annual 
report.

                   V. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT

    Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule 
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has 
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined 
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning 
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional 
Budget Office's statement that the bill contains no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs 
on state, local, or tribal governments.

             VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                 Washington, DC, November 18, 2019.
Hon. Ron Johnson,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. 
        Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 565, the Billion 
Dollar Boondoggle Act of 2019.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew 
Pickford.
            Sincerely,
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    

    S. 565 would require agencies to report on any government 
project that is $1 billion or more over budget or more than 
five years behind schedule. The report would include a 
description of the project, any changes to the project's 
requirements, the original due date and expected completion 
date, and some financial information. The bill also would 
require the Office of Management and Budget to issue guidance 
on the reporting requirements. Because the information is 
already available for those projects, CBO estimates that 
implementing S. 565 would have no significant effect on the 
federal budget.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew 
Pickford. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 
Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

       VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

    Because this legislation would not repeal or amend any 
provision of current law, it would not make changes in existing 
law within the meaning of clauses (a) and (b) of paragraph 12 
of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate.