Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) sent a letter to the inspector general of every major federal department and agency on Tuesday to determine how remote work is affecting productivity.
The Iowa senator is seeking more information on how telework is affecting the delivery and response time of services, how much funding from taxpayers is being spent on unused office space, and if there are any steps that have been taken to adjust federal workers’ location-based salaries for those who have relocated and are still working from home. She is also attempting to understand better what work-site attendance looks like at every agency.
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“Growing up on a farm, I know what working from home actually means,” Ernst said in a statement provided to the Washington Examiner. “Frustrated Americans are being put on hold while too many federal employees are phoning it in. I’m calling out federal employees who refuse to answer the call of duty to return to work on behalf of taxpayers, veterans, seniors, and our great nation. It’s time to get back to work.”
A Government Accountability Office report published last month found that "17 of the 24 federal agencies used on average an estimated 25 percent or less of the capacity of their headquarters buildings." The federal government manages 511 million square feet of office space, according to the GAO. All that real estate costs the federal government about $7 billion to lease and maintain, which comes directly from the taxpayers.
Ernst is also urging the federal government to look into how remote work could be inflating salaries for federal employees who have relocated from larger cities with higher costs of living to a less expensive area.
“These pay determinations should be reevaluated, and possibly redefined, to save taxpayers money,” Ernst wrote. “Digital records can identify the locations from which an employee is logging onto a computer or swiping an access card to enter a building, which should make it relatively easy to determine the primary location of any employee.”
The senator, who has the No. 4 spot in Senate GOP leadership, also stressed the importance of determining if an agency is able to meet its mission when civil servants are working remotely. She cited a case in which a manager responsible for overseeing a team that helps veterans schedule appointments at the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center posted a photo of himself “working” while in a bubble bath, which sparked outrage.
“Many civil servants, like meat inspectors or airport security screeners, do not have the luxury of working from home,” she said.
Ernst’s push for oversight comes after President Joe Biden recently called for his Cabinet to “aggressively execute” plans for federal employees to return to work in their offices this fall after years of working remotely.
"As we look towards the fall, and with the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency, your agencies will be implementing increases in the amount of in-person work for your team," White House chief of staff Jeff Zients wrote in an Aug. 4 email to Cabinet leadership. "This is a priority of the President — and I am looking to each of you to aggressively execute this shift in September and October."
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Before the pandemic, 70% of workers with remote-capable jobs commuted four or more days per week, compared to 19% now. The push to return to in-person work comes as many workers say they don’t want to end their remote lifestyles, according to a Washington Post-Schar School poll from March.
That survey found 47% of area workers say their job can be done remotely, and 37% of whom work fully from home. Another 48% have a hybrid working arrangement, while 13% are fully in person. About 66% of those workers would prefer remote work most of the time, and 38% said they would prefer it all the time.