New Bill Forces Agencies to Report on $1 Billion+ Cost Overruns and 5-Year Delays

The aptly named “Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act of 2025” is straightforward: it aims to shine a massive spotlight on federal projects that are catastrophically behind schedule or wildly over budget. Specifically, the bill requires federal agencies to track and report annually on any “covered project”—defined as a project that is either five years behind its original completion date or has cost at least $1 billion more than its initial estimate. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) must then compile all this dirty laundry into a single, public annual report for Congress, which will also be posted online for everyone to see.

The $1 Billion Threshold: What Gets Flagged?

This isn't about the local post office renovation running a few weeks late. This legislation targets the whales—the massive acquisitions, defense programs, construction efforts, and cleanup projects that often end up becoming legendary examples of government waste. If a project started with a $500 million budget and is now projected to cost $1.6 billion, it hits the threshold. If a space program was supposed to launch in 2020 but is now targeting 2026, it’s also on the list. The goal here is transparency, forcing agencies to confront—and publicly explain—these massive failures instead of just letting them fade into the background of the federal budget.

Why Transparency Matters to Your Wallet

For the average taxpayer, this is a big win for accountability. When a project is flagged, the agency has to provide serious detail: the original and current cost estimates (adjusted for inflation), the reason for the delays or cost hikes, and even an explanation for any changes in the project’s original scope. Think of this as the government being forced to show its work on its biggest, most expensive homework assignments. This level of mandatory disclosure gives oversight committees in Congress, watchdog groups, and everyday citizens the concrete data needed to ask tough questions and hold officials accountable for poor planning or execution. It’s hard to fix a problem if you don't publicly admit how bad it is.

The Incentive Fee Problem

One particularly interesting provision requires agencies to disclose the amount and rationale for any awards, incentive fees, or bonuses given for these troubled projects. Imagine a construction company or defense contractor getting a $10 million bonus for a project that is five years late and $1.5 billion over budget. This reporting requirement forces agencies to justify paying out incentives on what are clearly failing efforts, putting immediate public pressure on contractors who benefit from poor performance. This is the kind of detail that cuts through the bureaucratic fog and connects directly to the idea that performance should be rewarded, not failure.

The Fine Print: Who Gets a Pass?

While the bill is strong on transparency, there is one key exclusion worth noting in the definitions section. The definition of a “project” explicitly states that it does not include anything funded through “direct spending.” Direct spending usually covers entitlements, mandatory spending, or certain large grant programs. This means that if a massive, multi-billion dollar entitlement program or a large, troubled grant initiative has catastrophic cost overruns, it might not be covered by this reporting requirement, even if the cost is astronomical. The focus remains strictly on time-limited endeavors like construction, acquisitions, and procurement. While this is a common legislative distinction, it means some big-ticket items that plague the federal budget might still operate outside this new spotlight.