Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst asked Department of Transport Secretary Shawn Duffy to provide a list of Department of Transport’s “Billion Dollar Bundogle” projects on Tuesday that were either over budget or behind schedule.
In a letter sent Tuesday, Ernst requested that the list be made that projects that are delayed in schedules of more than $1 billion above budget, as required by regulations she wrote. Infrastructure Investment and Employment LawPresident Joe Biden signed the law in November 2021. Ernst claimed that the Biden administration “refused” to enforce her provisions. (Related: Exclusive: Joni Ernst introduces bills to reduce taxpayer-funded perks for a former president lying on fabric)
“Unfortunately, I don’t even know how many other bloated Bundoguru there are, as the Biden administration refused to enforce my multi-billion dollar Bundoguru laws.” “We need an answer about the fact that other numbers of gravy trains are taking taxpayers to board.
You can’t make up for it!
Billions of dollars have been wasted on California’s Crazy Train, and now local lawmakers have admitted they have “no plans,” but they’ll need billions more to get that back on track!
This is exactly why I call this gravy train to be refunded anywhere… https://t.co/bzoasa8g56
– Joni Ernst (@senjoniernst) March 28, 2025
Ernst’s letter pointed to the California high-speed rail project. This requires an additional $7 billion in funding, with a budget of $100 billion and delayed schedules, as an example of a project that wastes taxpayer funds.
“More money, more issues are the motto for California’s Crazy Train to not go anywhere,” Ernst told DCNF.
“Not a single report has been published so far despite repeated requests from my office over the past few years,” Ernst wrote to Duffy. “I maintain my running list so I can assure you that a lot of Bundoguru is funded by the DOT before you become a secretary worthy of your attention and place in this report.”
Ernst released a list Of the five rail projects in February, the California High Speed Rail Program, which was supposed to link Los Angeles and San Francisco, two other rail projects in the San Francisco area, and the Maryland and Minnesota light rail projects totaled more than $110 billion in total. (Related: “Accountability is coming”: Joni Ernst sends Musk’s dogge to spend on ideas worth a trillion dollars)
Duffy announced a survey of California’s high-speed rail line between San Francisco and Los Angeles in February, determining whether $4 billion in federal funds should continue to commit to the project.
Ernst has focused on eliminating government waste since the 2014 election to the US Senate, and has recently focused on the impact of teleworking and remote work on federal agencies.
In a seven-page letter to Tesla CEO Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy in November, Ernst detailed waste, from dealing with unused space in the building to unmistakable spending for COVID-19 relief, with the proposed cuts totaling over $2 trillion.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation is an independent, nonpartisan newswire service that is free to use for legitimate news publishers that can provide large audiences. All republished articles must include logos, reporter signatures and DCNF affiliation. For questions regarding our guidelines or partnerships with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
