The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Inspector General on Tuesday agreed to audit the agency's telework and remote work programs after Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa requested a review of the policy's impact.
According to the original request, Ernst called on federal agencies on Aug. 28, 2023, to review and address the wasteful effects of telework, such as employees receiving the same pay despite relocation and unnecessary funds being spent on vacant office buildings. In a memo provided exclusively to the Daily Caller News Foundation by Ernst's office, the EPA announced it would conduct an audit to not only evaluate the success of telework but also to ensure “appropriate regional allowances” that reflect the cost of living in different parts of the country. (RELATED: Exclusive: Republican senators expand investigation into Biden administration's telework waste that's costing taxpayers millions of dollars a year)
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) said of federal employees who telework:
“How many federal employees who are paid based on location are teleworking in lower-cost areas? This is a scam, folks. It's a scam. So, federal employees, we're going to come after you.” pic.twitter.com/uHLePlwqsJ
— J.M. Rieger (@RiegerReport) September 6, 2023
“Our objective is to ensure that EPA is paying appropriate regional allowances to employees in accordance with regulations and policies,” the memo states. “We will be working with Mission Support Offices, the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, and select regional and program offices. We will conduct the audit using applicable generally accepted government auditing standards. Expected benefits of the audit include improved operational efficiency for EPA.”
In a letter to 24 government agencies in August 2023, Ernst called for an investigation into alleged misconduct, such as employees not working their regular hours or attending remote meetings in inappropriate circumstances, and called for a review of telework policies. account A story about a Veterans Affairs employee who attended a staff meeting while taking a bubble bath.
Ernst also case A US Patent and Trademark Office employee was paid $25,000 for abusing teleworking, after spending more than 730 hours on the golf course and at happy hours instead of working, according to an August 2015 report. Report According to the Commerce Department's Office of Inspector General. (RELATED: Biden Transportation Department using less than 15% of office space, government memo shows)
“The COVID-19 pandemic ended years ago, but we're still waiting for Biden Administration bureaucrats to get out of their bubble baths and return to their offices,” Ernst told DCNF. “I'm pleased that Inspector General O'Donnell is investigating rampant localization and telework abuses, but federal employees shouldn't need congressional action and multiple investigations to show up to work. Four years of telework have turned Washington into a ghost town, polluted the water our public daycare children drink, and cost taxpayers billions of dollars in empty buildings while bureaucrats are on permanent furlough hundreds of miles from their offices. Enough is enough. Accountability is upon us.”
Ernst also called on the EPA to take emergency action in an August 28 letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan about contaminants building up in drinking water at federal buildings that have been left unoccupied due to the shift to remote work.
“EPA does not comment on ongoing audits; however, as with all audits, EPA works with the Office of Inspector General to provide information upon request. With regard to the General Services Administration's ongoing baseline water quality testing, EPA leadership is committed to ensuring employees have access to healthy and safe drinking water,” EPA told DCNF when asked for comment. “As part of our federal government-wide safety and building operations efforts, GSA, the owner and building manager of the majority of federal facilities, conducts routine drinking water testing at EPA facilities. GSA inspects approximately 1,400 federally owned facilities and approximately 6,000 leased spaces, covering all federal tenants within the facility, including EPA.”
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