EXCLUSIVE: Joni Ernst Asks Transportation Sec To Hand Over List Of $1 Billion Projects That Are Way Behind Schedule

Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa asked Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy to provide a list of “billion-dollar boondoggle” projects funded by the Department of Transportation that are either over budget or behind schedule on Tuesday.

Ernst, in a letter sent Tuesday, requested that Duffy list the projects that are more than $1 billion over budget or five years behind schedule, as required by a provision she authored within the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law in November, 2021. Ernst claimed that the Biden administration “refused” to enforce her provision, which she dubbed the “Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act,” requiring a report of projects meeting that criteria to be compiled.

“Unfortunately, we do not even know how many other bloated boondoggles are out there, because the Biden administration refused to enforce my Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act, “Ernst told the 🏢Daily Caller News Foundation. “We need answers about just how many other gravy trains are taking taxpayers for a ride and slam the brakes on runaway spending.”

Ernst’s letter pointed to California’s high-speed rail project, which is reportedly $100 billion over budget and over a decade behind schedule and in need of another $7 billion infusion of funding, as one example of a project wasting taxpayer funds.