‘BOONDOGGLES’: See Where the Biggest Wastes of Tax Dollars Are Going, Besides Just California
31st July 2025
While President Donald Trump nixed funding for California’s “train to nowhere,” taxpayers remain on the hook for other projects that are billions of dollars over budget and more than a decade behind schedule, according to a new Senate report.
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, issued “Off the Rails: The Billion Dollar Boondoggles Taking Taxpayers for a Ride,” a report that details projects such as Minnesota’s costliest project in history and a project that is more than half of Hawaii’s entire state budget.
“From poor planning and mismanagement to red tape, there are a laundry list of reasons why these projects are delayed,” Ernst told The Daily Signal. “Somehow, the solution is always more tax dollars, but enough is enough. As I continue to work with the Trump administration to restore accountability to Washington, there is no better place to focus than on these projects that have cost run-ups totaling more than $160 billion.”
As part of the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act during the Biden administration, Ernst got an amendment passed that requires the Department of Transportation to issue a public report each year disclosing any taxpayer-funded project that is more than $1 billion over budget or is five years or more behind schedule. (Ernst voted against the bigger bill).