(Washington D.C.) Iowa U.S. Senator Joni Ernst, exposing that after almost four years post COVID-19 that temporarily closed federal office buildings, said today not a single government agency is occupying even half their office space and called on Biden’s bureaucrats to bring federal workers back into the agency halls or sell off unused facilities.
As taxpayers pick up the cost of vacant offices, Ernst unveiled a naughty list of these no-show federal agencies topped by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Social Security Administration, both using just 7% of their space.
In August, Ernst demanded investigations into 24 federal departments and agencies to determine the impact of telework on the delivery and response times of services. Following her advocacy, the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Inspector General responded to her request and is considering an audit to examine whether GSA has appropriately evaluated its physical space needs and utilization. A few months later, the GSA announced it would downsize 3.5 million square feet of federal buildings, saving taxpayers over $1 billion.
Ernst also increased accountability for federal telework abuse by passing an amendment to hold the Biden administration accountable for the cost to taxpayers and the impact on services from continued remote work by Washington bureaucrats.
