Ernst Bills to Make Washington Spending More Transparent Passes Out of House Oversight Committee

WASHINGTON - During Sunshine Week, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform approved U.S. Senator Joni Ernst's (R-Iowa) two bipartisan bills, Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act and Stop Secret Spending Act, an important step forward to increasing transparency and accountability within the federal government. Both bills will now move to the full House for consideration.

"Sunshine is the best disinfectant, and it is only fitting my pair of bills passed out of the House Oversight Committee during Sunshine Week," said Ernst. "As I shine more light on wasteful Washington spending, I'm excited to continuing shepherding these bills to become law, so that our hardworking taxpayers know exactly where their money is going and that it's not being wasted on pointless projects."

"It's simple: Americans deserve to know how their hard-earned tax dollars are spent," said House Committee on Oversight and Reform Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.). "That's why I'm proud to support Senator Ernst's legislation this week to increase transparency and ensure the federal government uses those dollars efficiently, effectively, and with full accountability."

Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) led the Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act in the House of Representatives.

"Washington bureaucrats have wasted billions of taxpayer dollars on misguided programs while hardworking Americans foot the bill," said Miller-Meeks. "I'm proud to work with Senator Ernst to expose these billion-dollar boondoggles and bring transparency and accountability back to Washington. I will always fight to protect taxpayers and ensure their hard-earned dollars are spent responsibly."

Ernst's bipartisan Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act - which passed the Senate late last year - requires any taxpayer-funded project more than $1 billion over budget or more than five years behind schedule to be made public and scrutinized.

Her Stop Secret Spending Act boosts transparency in Washington by requiring all spending to be publicly disclosed. Currently, billions of dollars in spending are hidden from public disclosure by bureaucrats labeling it as an "Other Transactions Agreements," including more than $18 billion in 2025. The bill was approved by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee last year.

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