{"id":1972281,"date":"2023-07-13T17:18:02","date_gmt":"2023-07-13T21:18:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/federal-agencies-using-just-25-percent-of-their-office-space-watchdog-reveals\/"},"modified":"2023-07-13T17:21:20","modified_gmt":"2023-07-13T21:21:20","slug":"federal-agencies-using-just-25-percent-of-their-office-space-watchdog-reveals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/federal-agencies-using-just-25-percent-of-their-office-space-watchdog-reveals\/","title":{"rendered":"Watchdog reveals federal agencies only using 25% of office space."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffederal-agencies-using-just-25-percent-of-their-office-space-watchdog-reveals%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1972281&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><section id=\"article\">\n<article data-post-title=\"Federal Agencies Using Just 25 Percent of Their Office Space, Watchdog Reveals\" data-post-slug=\"http:\/\/whitehouses-white-office-rhode-island-senator-has-one-of-the-least-diverse-dem-staffs\" data-post-url id=\"print-1766751\">\n<div>\n<p><h2>Remote work policies lead to massive waste of government property<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<figure>\n      <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Federal agencies are using only a quarter of their available office space due to the growing number of government workers working from home, a federal watchdog revealed Thursday.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The Government Accountability Office cited <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chicago-teachers-union-approves-tentative-deal-students-to-return-to-classrooms\/\" title=\"Chicago Teachers Union Approves Tentative Deal, Students To Return To Classrooms\">remote work<\/a> as a reason for the massive underutilization of office space it found in its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/assets\/gao-23-106200.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/mailtrack.io\/trace\/link\/ac9c346ac71485c57f915ae49875f0d1f17e4ecd?url%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.gao.gov%252Fassets%252Fgao-23-106200.pdf%26userId%3D6348687%26signature%3Ded199a2b003a7da6&#038;source=gmail&#038;ust=1689363434191000&#038;usg=AOvVaw1uwDBJGHuIwyljms4mFg2_\">investigation<\/a> of 24 federal agencies. All agencies reviewed reported that their in-office workforce does not <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/christmas-flightmare-thousands-of-travelers-stranded-for-holidays-after-omicron-forces-delays-cancellations\/\" title=\"\u2018Christmas Flightmare\u2019: Thousands Of Travelers Stranded For Holidays After Omicron Forces Delays, Cancellations\">meet pre-pandemic levels<\/a>, and not a single one utilizes more than 49 percent of the space it uses taxpayer money to rent and buy.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Some agencies reported usage as low as 9 percent, Rep. Scott Perry (R., Pa.) revealed in a Thursday <a href=\"https:\/\/transportation.house.gov\/calendar\/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=406753\">hearing<\/a> on the report.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">&#8220;Low building utilization has significant costs, both to the government and to the American taxpayer,&#8221; said David Marroni, acting director of the Government Accountability Office\u2019s physical infrastructure team. &#8220;Every dollar an agency spends on unneeded space is a dollar that can\u2019t be used for other priorities.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Government agencies embraced remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic, with no safeguards in place to ensure employees were working. Many agencies <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/biden-administration\/wholly-inadequate-federal-agencies-have-no-system-to-check-whether-remote-employees-are-actually-working\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/mailtrack.io\/trace\/link\/82211fd068c88141de0c6cea1b45b3b675ffc4f0?url%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Ffreebeacon.com%252Fbiden-administration%252Fwholly-inadequate-federal-agencies-have-no-system-to-check-whether-remote-employees-are-actually-working%252F%26userId%3D6348687%26signature%3D80a132235c079ed7&#038;source=gmail&#038;ust=1689363434191000&#038;usg=AOvVaw01HzKFpVtHMax3GRsOPaS_\">reported<\/a> having no mechanism for checking whether their remote employees were working, and a quarter of federal health employees <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/latest-news\/quarter-of-federal-health-workers-failed-to-check-email-amid-pandemic-report-reveals\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/mailtrack.io\/trace\/link\/6e39826345c93934dba3f21cbecb1498f195b9c8?url%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Ffreebeacon.com%252Flatest-news%252Fquarter-of-federal-health-workers-failed-to-check-email-amid-pandemic-report-reveals%252F%26userId%3D6348687%26signature%3Dd4f99f132184ebe0&#038;source=gmail&#038;ust=1689363434191000&#038;usg=AOvVaw1u77X90y8rpuwlfGvNk4ix\">did not check<\/a> their emails.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The Biden administration has encouraged remote work as a &#8220;major opportunity&#8221; to advance its climate agenda. In January, several federal agencies <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/biden-administration\/biden-admin-floats-new-strategy-to-address-the-climate-crisis-dont-leave-your-house\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/mailtrack.io\/trace\/link\/5101d4247d2dfa4686f597fd838bd3a8f14bc673?url%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Ffreebeacon.com%252Fbiden-administration%252Fbiden-admin-floats-new-strategy-to-address-the-climate-crisis-dont-leave-your-house%252F%26userId%3D6348687%26signature%3Db0d315c42dd1d59f&#038;source=gmail&#038;ust=1689363434191000&#038;usg=AOvVaw1ERRNvmJXvc5plbiRNscpj\">released<\/a> a plan that claimed the COVID-19 pandemic &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-admin-floats-new-strategy-to-address-the-climate-crisis-dont-leave-your-house\/\" title=\"Biden Admin Floats New Strategy To 'Address the Climate Crisis': Don't Leave Your House\">highlighted major opportunities<\/a>&#8221; to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/massachusetts-climate-official-on-people-producing-emissions-we-have-to-break-your-will\/\" title=\"Massachusetts Climate Official On People Producing Emissions: \u2018We Have To Break Your Will\u2019\">reduce carbon emissions<\/a> and energy usage through &#8220;remote work and virtual interactions.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Perry revealed in the hearing that the General Services Administration, which manages office space for the federal government, was &#8220;leading the charge,&#8221; with its headquarters having one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/federal-agencies-using-just-25-percent-of-their-office-space-watchdog-reveals\/\" title=\"Watchdog reveals federal agencies only using 25% of office space.\">lowest office utilization rates<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Nina Albert, commissioner of the GSA\u2019s Public Buildings Service, said at the hearing that she couldn\u2019t tell the congressmen how many employees in her division were working in person.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R., Wis.) said her inability to answer the question was &#8220;completely unacceptable&#8221; and called her testimony &#8220;a pile of gobbledygook.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">&#8220;I\u2019m a retired Navy SEAL,&#8221; he said, &#8220;I knew where all my people were at all times, and I managed folks in three different combat zones simultaneously, and I could tell you within a ten-meter square where they were at\u2014in combat. And you can\u2019t tell me where administrative personnel are located in the country, and we\u2019re giving you how much money?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">&#8220;If this was a private portfolio, at some point, we\u2019d just close the doors and have to forgo those buildings,&#8221; said Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R., Ore.).<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">She added that she felt requests for more funding were effectively saying &#8220;we want more money to waste money.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A federal watchdog revealed that remote work policies have resulted in a significant waste of government property. Due to the increasing number of government employees working from home, federal agencies are utilizing only 25% of their office space. The Government Accountability Office identified remote work as the cause for the substantial underutilization of office facilities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2112,"featured_media":1972282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1972281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-free-beacon"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1972281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2112"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1972281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1972281\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1972282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1972281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1972281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1972281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}