The GOP is demanding that the Biden administration cease having federal employees work from home or hold a “clearance sale” on the massively expensive government buildings meant to hold them.

Republicans are pointing out that billions of taxpayer dollars are being wasted on empty federal office space as employees take full advantage of work-from-home policies that Biden implemented during the pandemic.

Reports have surfaced showing government employees taking bubble baths or taking in a round of golf while being paid to work. Some have even claimed to be working during happy hours, according to the Daily Mail.

One Department of Veterans Affairs employee based in Atlanta, Georgia posted a series of Instagram posts in March showing him in a bathtub. One was captioned, “My office for the next hour,” according to WSB-TV. That particular picture shows a government-issued computer on a stand opened up to a staff meeting with the employee’s bare legs soaking in the tub filled with bubbles.

One VA medical center manager called into a meeting from a bubble bath.

They shamelessly posted a selfie on social media with the caption, “my office for the next hour.”https://t.co/t7cvlTav5a

— Joni Ernst (@SenJoniErnst) August 29, 2023

A stunning 75 percent of office space at 17 separate federal agencies is sitting empty, according to the Government Accountability Office. Conservatives either want federal employees back in the office or the buildings sold off to help pay off our out-of-control national debt.

The Daily Mail is reporting that “agencies spend about $2 billion a year to operate and maintain federal office buildings and over $5 billion annually in leases.”

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) demanded that Biden hold a “clearance sale on unused office space” in an interview with the Daily Mail. She stated that it could go toward paying off the $32.9 trillion in national debt.

She asserted that the “impact of telework” on federal employees’ performance must be “evaluated.”

Remote work should not be confused with flipping through channels with a TV remote.

That’s why I’m giving my August 2023 #SquealAward to those federal employees who refuse to answer the call of duty to return to work on behalf of taxpayers. #MakeEmSqueal

— Joni Ernst (@SenJoniErnst) August 29, 2023

“Many civil servants, like meat inspectors or airport security screeners, do not have the luxury of working from home, much less a bubble bath,” she contended.

Ernst wrote to a number of agency inspector generals voicing her concerns about the misuse of taxpayer funds. She noted that getting rid of offices at several agencies would cut down on waste. She specifically referred to the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) headquarters which would allegedly save $30 million taxpayer dollars per year.

The senator singled out a USPTO patent examiner who “never showed up to work” and was paid “$25,000 for 730 hours not worked.” That employee was allegedly golfing and engaging in other activities instead of working.

Biden’s Chief of Staff Jeff Zients issued a directive that ordered all federal employees to return to the office this fall. They have now been working at home for years due to the pandemic.

“We are returning to in-person work because it is critical to the well-being of our teams and will enable us to deliver better results for the American people,” Zients stated in his letter to all Cabinet heads, adding that it is a “priority of the president.”

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Reps. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) and Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) also wrote to the Biden administration demanding to know if telework policies were leading to decreased productivity.

We are continuing our investigation into the Biden Administration’s telework policy for federal employees.

Bureaucrats in D.C. shouldn’t be slouched at home while American’s are hard at work, everyday, in person.

Read more here https://t.co/LnFubtShSW

— Rep. Lauren Boebert (@RepBoebert) August 31, 2023

They also want to know how many federal employees are working from home. So far, they haven’t received any answer.

“One of two options is currently playing out: either federal agencies are withholding information from Congress or federal agencies are not tracking telework and remote work policies as required by the law. Both possibilities are deeply concerning,” Comer, Sessions, and Boebert contend.

In response to being stonewalled, the Republicans are threatening “compulsory measures” if the Biden administration doesn’t cough up the demanded information. That could mean subpoenas.

Comer asserts that it’s “past time” for federal workers to return to the office, “It’s unacceptable that the Biden Administration has continued pandemic-era telework policies when the pandemic has been over for some time.”

Federal workers must show up for the American people.@RepJamesComer’s bill, the SHOW UP Act, requires federal workers to return to pre-pandemic telework levels.

Americans across the country show up to work everyday.

Federal employees should be no different. pic.twitter.com/Usywly5hck

— Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) February 1, 2023

He cited reports that claim only a third of federal employees have returned to work at their designated offices, according to the Daily Mail.

The House passed the SHOWUP Act in February which seeks to get federal employees back at their desks.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) introduced a companion bill to the SHOWUP Act as well.

As the public health emergency officially ends, so should the COVID-era telework policies for federal bureaucrats.

Today, I introduced the SHOW UP Act because a VA employee should not be able to work from a bubble bath while a veteran waits for care.

— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) May 12, 2023

“It’s illogical that VA employees are able to work from a bubble bath, while organizations across the country have safely re-opened,” she asserted.

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) sent out a request for the same information in 2021 and was ignored.

He told the Daily Mail in an interview that with “few exceptions,” 34 federal agencies “ignored” his requests for the number of employees working from home.

“The Biden Administration’s grossly inadequate responses to even the most basic, legitimate oversight questions highlights this administration’s lack of transparency and apparent disdain for Congressional oversight,” he proclaimed.

Get the latest BPR news delivered free to your inbox daily. SIGN UP HERE

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.