Members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (HOGR) approved a bill Wednesday prohibiting federal employees from accessing pornography on government computers and other devices.
“This one is a no-brainer,” said Rep. Mark Meadows, who introduced the bill. Meadows, a North Carolina Republican, is chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, a group that includes more than 40 of the top conservative congressional advocates.
The briefly-worded bill directs the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to create guidelines prohibiting federal employees from accessing pornography, except as needed for federal investigations. The bill comes after multiple reports of prolific and unpunished porn use at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (RELATED: Employees Not Punished For Watching Porn, Stealing Money)
The committee referred the bill to the House without objection.
Current federal law does not prohibit federal employees from accessing or consuming porn on government equipment or time. The Daily Caller News Foundation’s Investigative Group has reported multiple cases of federal workers devouring porn on the job, with minimal — if any — punishment.
One unnamed GS-15 EPA worker, for instance, watched porn at the office for “years,” and received only a five-day suspension. Similarly, an EPA geologist who regularly watched porn and masturbated in his office kept his job and received a bonus.
Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Stephen Lynch supported the bill, but said the committee needs to focus on more important things, specifically any Russian involvement in last year’s presidential election.
“I think that’s the more important issue than federal employees looking at porn,” Lynch said.
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