Critical Reasoning

Accountant: The residents of Trenakintown have long supported the building of a large shopping mall in the town's center, and almost every winter the local newspaper has reported that the town's best construction company, Buildacorp, plans to begin such a project by the summer, but this construction has never begun. However, we have just learned that this winter, Buildacorp has satisfied the budget allocation requirement for large-scale construction projects by submitting a detailed breakdown of proposed expenditures to Trenakintown's Committee of Special Projects. So, it is very likely that Buildacorp will begin construction of the large shopping mall in the town's center this summer.

The answer to which of the following questions would be most useful in evaluating the accountant's argument?

A) Has any other construction company that has satisfied the budget allocation requirement for large-scale construction projects reported a lower estimate of its proposed expenditures?

B) Is submitting a detailed break down of proposed expenditures the only way to satisfy Trenakintown's Committee of Special Projects's budget allocation requirements?

C) Did the information recently reported by the accountant come directly from Trenakintown's Committee of Special Projects?

D) Is the amount that Buildacorp proposes to spend greater than what the Committee had anticipated?

E) Has Buildacorp also satisfied the budget allocation requirements for large-scale construction projects before any other summers?

OA: E