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July 20, 2026
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Download official House Record PDFReturn to issue contextMr. 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.
projects continue to soar above cost projections and run behind schedule.
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.
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.
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.
for their work on the House companion bill. It is time to get this bill sent to the President's desk.
{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.
transparently, and with real accountability for results, but Federal programs often fall behind schedule or go way over budget without Congress' knowledge.
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.
American people. It will also keep projects on time and on budget. This is a bipartisan fix to increase fiscal responsibility.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
wasting taxpayer money. I came here to defend the people who pay the bills. This bill puts them front and center where they belong.
of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this commonsense legislation.
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.
bipartisan and bicameral government reform bill that will ensure the necessary oversight of the over-budget and behind-schedule Federal projects that take place.
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.