{"id":2015270,"date":"2023-08-29T10:40:04","date_gmt":"2023-08-29T14:40:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sen-ernst-asks-why-taxpayers-should-fund-unused-office-space-when-most-dc-feds-still-work-from-home\/"},"modified":"2023-08-29T10:43:47","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T14:43:47","slug":"sen-ernst-asks-why-taxpayers-should-fund-unused-office-space-when-most-dc-feds-still-work-from-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sen-ernst-asks-why-taxpayers-should-fund-unused-office-space-when-most-dc-feds-still-work-from-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Sen. Ernst questions the need for taxpayers to fund vacant office space while most DC federal employees continue to work remotely."},"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\">42<\/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%2Fsen-ernst-asks-why-taxpayers-should-fund-unused-office-space-when-most-dc-feds-still-work-from-home%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=2015270&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--><h2>Government Office Space Sitting Empty as Employees Work from Home<\/h2>\n<p>Did you know that a staggering 75 percent of available office space for federal departments and agencies \u200din and around the nation&#8217;s capital is currently unused? That&#8217;s right\u2014while many government employees continue to work from\u2064 home, \u2062taxpayer money is still being spent on maintaining, cleaning,\u200c and climate-controlling these empty spaces.<\/p>\n<p>This eye-opening \u2064analysis \u200dwas recently conducted\u2062 by the Government \u2064Accountability Office (GAO)\u200c for Congress.\u2062 The report reveals the significant costs associated with maintaining <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sen-ernst-asks-why-taxpayers-should-pay-for-unused-office-space-when-most-dc-feds-are-still-working-from-home\/\" title=\"Sen. Ernst questions why taxpayers fund vacant office space while many DC federal employees continue to work remotely.\">vacant office space<\/a> and highlights the \u200cneed for action.<\/p>\n<h3>Sen. Joni \u2062Ernst Calls for \u200cAccountability<\/h3>\n<p>In \u2062response to \u2064these findings, Sen. Joni Ernst\u2063 (R-Iowa) is taking action. She is urging 24 inspectors\u2063 general\u2062 (IG) to \u200cinvestigate\u200d the costs incurred by their agencies due to \u200cvacant office space and determine whether \u2063leases should be canceled or space should \u200dbe sold off. Additionally, Sen. Ernst\u2064 wants the IGs to assess \u200bthe impact of \u2062mass teleworking on government response times.<\/p>\n<p>The IGs, appointed \u2064by the president and confirmed \u2064by the Senate, play\u2062 a \u2063crucial role in identifying and addressing waste, \u200cfraud, and abuse within the federal \u200cgovernment.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Americans are being put on hold while too \u2062many federal\u2063 employees are phoning it in,&#8221; says\u2063 Sen. Ernst. She believes it&#8217;s time for the federal government to\u2063 be held \u2064accountable for the rising \u2063costs of\u2064 teleworking.<\/p>\n<h3>The Impact of Teleworking<\/h3>\n<p>Prior to the COVID-19\u2062 pandemic, teleworking was only utilized by\u200c a small percentage of federal \u200demployees. However, as\u200b the pandemic hit, the majority of federal \u2063workers, especially those in the Washington area, transitioned \u2062to \u200cteleworking.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Ernst points out that the \u200dcosts of unused office space and reports of\u2064 federal workers being paid without performing their duties are clear examples \u2064of taxpayer dollars going to waste.<\/p>\n<p>She highlights the consequences of this situation, stating, &#8220;Thousands of calls to \u200cthe Department \u2063of Veterans \u2063Affairs (VA) from \u200c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sen-ernst-asks-why-taxpayers-should-fund-unused-office-space-when-most-dc-feds-still-work-from-home\/\" title=\"Sen. Ernst questions the need for taxpayers to fund vacant office space while most DC federal employees continue to work remotely.\">veterans seeking mental health services<\/a> are going unanswered. Desperate travelers are waiting \u2063hours on the phone or in line \u2064hoping to speak with someone at the \u200dState \u200bDepartment about passport delays that are causing vacation cancellations.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Seniors calling the Social Security Administration are also facing challenges, experiencing longer wait times\u200b or unanswered calls\u200d as the agency shifts to \u200cremote work.<\/p>\n<h3>Finding the Right Balance<\/h3>\n<p>While Sen. Ernst acknowledges the positive aspects of teleworking,\u2063 such as cost savings and talent retention, she emphasizes the need for balance. \u200bTelework arrangements should not hinder agencies&#8217; missions, delay service delivery, or \u200cimpede workforce management.<\/p>\n<p>She cites a Commerce Department IG analysis that revealed millions of dollars\u200b in unpaid work and a patent\u2062 application backlog due to lax oversight and inadequate internal \u2064controls of telework. This highlights the importance\u200b of\u2062 effective management and \u2064accountability.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Ernst is determined to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kathleen-j-anderson-elon-musk-slashed-twitters-employees-time-for-washington-to-do-the-same\/\" title=\"Kathleen J. Anderson: Elon Musk Slashed Twitter\u2019s Employees \u2013 Time for Washington to Do the Same\">hold federal employees accountable<\/a> and has even created the &#8220;Squeal\u2064 Award&#8221;\u2063 to recognize\u200b those who refuse to answer the call\u2063 of duty.<\/p>\n<h3>The \u200cChallenge of\u2064 Obtaining Information<\/h3>\n<p>Uncovering \u200call the facts about the benefits and costs\u2063 of federal teleworking won&#8217;t be easy. OpenTheBooks.com, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tucker-carlsons-twitter-bio-describes-him-as-nonbinary-climate-activist-of-color\/\" title=\"Tucker Carlson\u2019s Twitter bio describes him as nonbinary climate activist of color\">nonprofit watchdog organization<\/a>, submitted\u2063 a Freedom of Information \u200cAct (FOIA) request \u2064to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to obtain information about the work\u200c locations of government employees. However, the Biden administration has refused \u200dto release \u200dthis information.<\/p>\n<p>As Sen. Ernst continues her efforts to address the \u2062issues surrounding teleworking, transparency and accountability remain crucial.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At least 75% of office space in federal department and agency headquarters near the capital remains vacant, despite incurring expenses for maintenance, cleaning, and climate control. This is due to a significant number of government employees working remotely, as revealed in a recent analysis conducted for Congress.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":173,"featured_media":2015271,"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":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2015270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"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\/2015270","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\/173"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2015270"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2015270\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2015271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2015270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2015270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2015270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}