{"id":2407410,"date":"2025-02-27T10:01:10","date_gmt":"2025-02-27T15:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ernst-introduces-bill-demanding-disclosure-of-delayed-and-over-budget-government-projects-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-02-27T10:01:41","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T15:01:41","slug":"ernst-introduces-bill-demanding-disclosure-of-delayed-and-over-budget-government-projects-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ernst-introduces-bill-demanding-disclosure-of-delayed-and-over-budget-government-projects-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Ernst introduces bill demanding disclosure of delayed and over-budget government projects &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fernst-introduces-bill-demanding-disclosure-of-delayed-and-over-budget-government-projects-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2407410&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Senator Joni Ernst\u2062 (R-IA) has introduced the &#8220;Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act,&#8221;\u200d aiming to increase clarity regarding government projects that exceed their budgets or fall behind schedule.\u2063 The proposed \u2064legislation requires an annual report on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-house-republicans-call-out-union-requirements-driving-up-cost-of-federal-projects\/\" title=\"EXCLUSIVE: House Republicans Call Out Union Requirements Driving Up Cost Of Federal Projects\">taxpayer-funded projects<\/a> that are either at least five\u200b years overdue or over \u2062budget by $1 billion. Ernst criticized the \u2064inefficiency and waste \u200bin government spending,citing multiple examples such as california\u2019s\u2063 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pro-trump-religious-groups-begin-turning-up-heat-on-gop-to-take-action-on-marjorie-taylor-greene\/\" title=\"Pro...Trump, Religious Groups Begin Turning Up Heat On GOP To Take Action On Marjorie Taylor Greene\">high-speed rail project<\/a> and the U.S. Postal Service&#8217;s electric vehicle initiative, both \u2064of which have significantly exceeded costs and\u2063 timelines.Alongside Ernst, Rep. \u200bMariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) has introduced similar \u200blegislation in the House.\u2063 Ernst has been an advocate against \u200bgovernment waste, especially after the recent GOP electoral successes, and has co-founded the Senate DOGE Caucus to coordinate efforts to reduce wasteful\u2064 spending.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Ernst introduces bill demanding disclosure of delayed and over-budget government projects<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2021369\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joni-ernst\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Joni Ernst\">Joni Ernst<\/a> (R-IA) introduced a bill requiring the government to disclose projects that go heavily over budget or run behind schedule.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Ernst&rsquo;s &ldquo;Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act&rdquo; would require an <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">annual report detailing taxpayer-funded government projects<\/a> that run either five years behind schedule or at least $1 billion over budget. According to the bill, relevant projects include major acquisitions, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/stealth-fighters-performance-not-living-up-to-the-price-tag\/\" title=\"Stealth Fighter\u2019s Performance Not Living Up to the Price Tag\">major defense acquisition programs<\/a>, procurements, construction projects, and remediation or cleanup efforts.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;From its &lsquo;moondoggles&rsquo; to off-the-rails projects, Washington can&rsquo;t seem to ever make the trains run on time or on budget,&rdquo; Ernst told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.&nbsp;&ldquo;Bureaucrats always find a way to pay a whole lot more for planes, trains, and automobiles &mdash; and just about everything else. I am slamming&nbsp;the brakes on boondoggles and bringing them to a squealing halt.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) introduced companion legislation in the House.<\/p>\n<p>Ernst&rsquo;s office provided several examples of government projects that have gone far behind schedule and over budget. Perhaps the most <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/editorials\/3329510\/doge-california-high-speed-rail\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"infamous\">infamous<\/a> is California&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/high-speed-rail\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"infamous\">high-speed rail<\/a>&nbsp;project, which costs roughly $1.8 million per day despite no tracks having been laid. The original price tag of $33 billion in 2008 has tripled to $128 billion, more than qualifying for Ernst&rsquo;s new bill.<\/p>\n<p>A project to introduce electric Next Generation Delivery Vehicles for the U.S. Postal Service at a cost of $10 billion was also cited &mdash; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/business\/2024\/12\/11\/biden-usps-ev-oshkosh-climate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"fewer than 100\">fewer than 100<\/a> of the ordered 50,000 trucks planned to be put into service by 2028 have so far been delivered.<\/p>\n<p>The &ldquo;moondoggle&rdquo; decried by Ernst refers to NASA&rsquo;s efforts to return to the moon, which have gone $6 billion over budget and years behind schedule.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Ernst, who has made efforts to cut government waste a cornerstone of her time in the Senate, intensified her efforts following GOP victories in the 2024 elections. She co-founded the Senate DOGE Caucus, which has sought to coordinate with Elon Musk&rsquo;s Department of Government Efficiency to cut perceived government waste more effectively.<\/p>\n<p>She has racked up <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3296080\/joni-ernst-celebrates-trump-executive-order-federal-workers-end-telework\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"victories\">victories<\/a> on subjects such as ending government teleworking, which she was a vocal critic of.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2021369\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2021369\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ernst proposes bill for transparency on costly, delayed projects<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2653,"featured_media":2407411,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Ernst-.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[51222,51223,11232,32690],"class_list":["post-2407410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-bill-introduction","tag-delayed-projects","tag-ernst","tag-government-transparency"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Ernst-.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2407410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2653"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2407410"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2407410\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2407414,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2407410\/revisions\/2407414"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2407411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2407410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2407410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2407410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}