Trump Signs Laws Targeting Costly Federal Projects and Social Security Identity Theft

US President Donald Trump has signed two bills into law aimed at exposing major federal projects that run years behind schedule or billions of dollars over budget, while giving victims of Social Security identity theft a dedicated point of contact within the government.

Trump signed the measures on Wednesday, October 7, according to the White House.

The Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act of 2025 requires an annual report on taxpayer-funded projects that are more than five years behind schedule or at least 1 billion US dollars above their original cost estimates. The law covers major federally funded projects and is intended to give Congress and the public greater visibility into programmes facing substantial delays or cost overruns.

The legislation does not cancel or impose a spending ceiling on projects that meet the thresholds. Instead, it establishes a reporting mechanism requiring agencies to identify and report projects that have fallen significantly behind their original schedules or exceeded their initial budgets.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated that implementing the reporting requirements would cost about 1 million US dollars over five years.

The measure was introduced by Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa in February 2025 and later advanced through the Senate. An enrolled version was completed in September 2026 before being sent to the president.

Trump also signed the Improving Social Security’s Service to Victims of Identity Theft Act, which requires the Social Security Administration (SSA) to establish a single point of contact for people whose Social Security numbers have been misused or whose Social Security cards were lost while being sent to them.

The designated team will be responsible for tracking each case through completion and coordinating with other SSA units to resolve problems. The law is scheduled to take effect 180 days after enactment.

The measure was designed to address complaints that victims of identity theft can be passed between different SSA offices and employees while trying to resolve problems arising from the misuse of their Social Security numbers. The legislation received bipartisan support and cleared the Senate unanimously before reaching the president.

The two laws address different aspects of federal administration: one increases scrutiny of large government projects that suffer major delays or cost increases, while the other seeks to simplify the government's response when citizens' Social Security information is compromised.

Together, they add new reporting and case-management requirements for federal agencies as the administration faces continuing pressure to improve government efficiency and accountability.

Source: FSX Business News