Republican Indiana Rep. Jim Banks sent a letter Tuesday to the Office of Budget and Management (OMB) calling on them to make federal workers return to their offices in-person and end the remote work that was in put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Daily Caller first obtained the letter written to OMB Director Shalanda Young. In the letter, Banks lays out the reasons he believes federal workers receiving tax-payer funded salaries should no longer be allowed to work remotely. He also argues that nobody is tracking the productivity of these government employees.
“I write to convey my concerns over the Biden administration’s continued refusal to return the federal labor force back to full, in-person work. At his 2022 State of the Union address, President Biden promised that ‘[t]he vast majority of federal workers will once again work in person.’ But, despite officially ending the COVID-19 national emergency on April 10, 2023, the Biden administration is still not requiring federal employees to show up.”
“In short: For many Biden bureaucrats, telework is here to stay. OMB’s guidance is sapping the productivity of thousands of workers across the executive branch and depriving communities and businesses surrounding federal offices of commerce integral to their day-to-day operation and continued existence,” Banks wrote in the letter.
READ THE LETTER HERE:
(DAILY CALLER OBTAINED) — … by Henry Rodgers
“The Biden administration is refusing to track bureaucrats’ productivity while they collect taxpayer-funded salaries from home. Despite Joe Biden’s failure to gather basic data, commonsense says that remote work policies make federal agencies even less responsive, less efficient, and more wasteful, and are unfair to privately employed, hardworking Americans who have to show up to get paid,” Banks told the Caller before sending the letter. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Indiana Rep. Jim Banks To Prioritize ‘Combatting Wokeness’ As Chair Of Military Personnel Subcommittee)
“The pandemic is officially over, and federal workers’ three year staycation should be too,” Banks added.
In May of 2022, House Republicans introduced legislation to ensure the federal workforce returns and argued telework has caused problems such as delays at the IRS and struggles for veterans needing to access their benefits. Republicans are also worried the federal workforce is not providing services to Americans on time, as shown by the Americans experiencing delays when seeking passport renewals. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Here Is Who Will Serve On The Anti-Woke Caucus In Congress)
The Caller contacted the OMB about the letter to which they did not immediately respond.