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Explosive Ernst Report Exposes Government Boondoggles $160 Billion Over Budget

WASHINGTON – After her years of advocacy led to the defunding of the California Crazy Train, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) is releasing an explosive new report exposing other taxpayer-funded projects that are billions of dollars over budget or more than five years behind schedule.

Her report details how the worst boondoggles have racked up a combined $162.9 billion in cost overruns from their original projections.

“Slamming the brakes on the California Crazy Train - that I fought for years to defund - was a strong start, but there is a lot more work to do,” said Ernst. “The boondoggles I am exposing are collectively $160 billion over budget and need to be brought to a squealing halt. When a government project goes off the rails, the public deserves to know. My bipartisan Billion Dollar Boondoggles Act ensures that all future boondoggles like these are publicized.”

“If you’re receiving taxpayer dollars, you should expect to be held accountable by the American people,” said U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. “No more boondoggles! Thank you, Senator Ernst, for your leadership in Congress to ensure federal dollars are being used effectively and efficiently.”

Some of the worst boondoggles other than the California Crazy Train uncovered by Ernst include:

  • The Department of Veterans Affairs electronic health record system upgrade that has tripled in cost from an initial $16.1 billion price tag to $49.8 billion.
    • Additionally, flaws with the new system may have contributed to the deaths of several veterans and caused harm to others.
  • The Bay Area Rail Transit Extension - that Nancy Pelosi tried to sneak funding for into a COVID relief bill – has ballooned in costs from $4.7 billion to $12.8 billion.
    • At nearly $2 billion per mile, it’s been labeled “the worst new transit project in the U.S.”
  • The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Artemis moon mission launch booster and engine contracts that have already run $6 billion over budget.
    • The real budget is a blackhole because “NASA hasn’t established an official cost estimate.”

Read Ernst’s full report, “Off the Rails, the Billion Dollar Boondoggles Taking Taxpayers for a Ride,” here.

Background:

Ernst has long led the fight calling out government boondoggles, including the California High-Speed Rail, that are billions over budget and years behind schedule.

In 2022, Ernst successfully inserted a provision into the Inflation Reduction Act requiring the Department of Transportation (DOT) to keep track of projects paid for by taxpayers that are a billion dollars over budget or behind schedule. After the Biden administration refused to enact the provision in the Inflation Reduction Act, Ernst continued her efforts and pushed for her Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act in 2023 to expose these government projects.

In April 2025, Ernst asked the Trump administration to provide a list of billion dollar boondoggle projects funded by DOT that are either over budget or behind schedule. DOT Secretary Sean Duffy ended the Biden administration’s years of stonewalling and worked to get the data to Ernst.

Ernst’s Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act advanced out of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee this week. The bill would replicate this report across all of government to further expose wasteful projects sucking up tax dollars.

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