Under the bill, agencies would have to report the amount of and rationale for any award, incentive fee, or bonus paid for a drawn out project. Image: F Armstrong Photography/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffA Senate report urges more scrutiny of federal programs that are over budget and/or behind schedule, saying that “although various reporting and oversight mechanisms exist for federal spending and projects, there are still examples of projects that become delayed or significantly exceed their original expected costs.”
The report was filed in support of S-1258, which would require agencies to report annually to Congress on projects that are more than five years behind schedule or that have projected expenditures of $1 billion over the original cost estimate. Filing of the report makes the bill ready for a floor vote in the Senate, following its approval several weeks ago by the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
Under the bill, agencies would have to produce a description of each project; an explanation of any change to the original scope; the original and current expected dates of completion; the original and current cost estimates; an explanation of the delay in completion or increase in cost estimate; and if applicable, the amount of and rationale for any award, incentive fee, or bonus paid for the project.
The report says that IT projects for example, “which total more than $100 billion in investments per year, often fail to deliver needed capabilities timely and within budget. This has resulted in management of IT acquisitions and operations appearing on the General Accountability Office’s High Risk List every year since being added in 2015, with no improvement in GAO’s ratings in this area since 2017.”
The report notes that under the 2022 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Transportation Department already is required to report to Congress on its projects behind schedule or over budget, saying the requirement should be extended government-wide.
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