Ernst’s bipartisan bill to make federal telework policies more transparent

U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) recently introduced bipartisan legislation that would scrutinize the impact of federal telework policies on the delivery and response times of services to ensure taxpayer dollars are not wasted.

Federal employee use of telework skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and even four years after the pandemic temporarily closed federal buildings, no government agencies are utilizing even half the office space in their headquarters, according to Sen. Ernst. And taxpayers are picking up the tab for the cost of vacant office space.

“For too long, Americans have been on hold while bureaucrats phone it in,” Sen. Ernst said. “Since ‘temporary’ telework policies went into effect over four years ago, the remote lifestyle comes at the expense of the people federal agencies are meant to serve.”

In an effort to make telework policies more transparent, Sen. Ernst introduced S. 4043 along with bill sponsor U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) on March 21. The bill is under consideration in the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

“My bipartisan bill will provide full transparency into the inefficiencies of telework, so taxpayers are no longer on the hook for expensive wasted space at federal headquarters and misspent locality pay,” Sen. Ernst said.

S. 4043, if enacted, would monitor office building utilization and the effects of telework on agency performance, including customer service, backlogs and wait times, cost to operations, security, management of property, technology investments, and recruitment and retention, according to a bill summary from Sen. Ernst’s office. The bill also would require federal agencies to make telework policies publicly available online, would create automated systems to track employee use of telework, and would require audits to determine if agencies are properly verifying that teleworking employees are getting the correct locality-based pay.

“Federal agencies must track and consider the impact of telework on their ability to deliver services, recruit and retain talent, and ensure office operations are cost-efficient,” Sen. Peters said.