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.
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. 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.
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.
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