S. 1258 would require agencies to report on any of their projects that are $1 billion or more over budget or more than five years behind schedule. Those reports would include a description of the project, any changes to the project’s requirements, the original due date and expected completion date, and some financial information. The bill also would require the Office of Management and Budget to issue guidance on the reporting requirements.
While CBO does not have comprehensive information on the number of projects governmentwide that are at least $1 billion over budget or are more than five years behind schedule, we expect that such projects are tracked closely by agencies and that the bulk of the additional work under the bill would be from compiling and reporting on that information. Therefore, using information about similar reporting requirements, CBO estimates that implementing S. 1258 would cost less than $500,000 over the 2024-2028 period. That spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
Enacting S. 1258 also could affect direct spending by some agencies that are allowed to use fees, receipts from the sale of goods, and other collections to cover operating costs. CBO estimates that any net changes in direct spending by those agencies would be negligible because most of them can adjust amounts collected to reflect changes in operating costs.
