The House Oversight Committee will hold its first hearing of the new Congress next Wednesday, focusing on prolonged telework for federal employees under pandemic-era policies. Chairman James Comer (R-KY) is prioritizing the return of federal workers to in-person offices, citing concerns about service delivery and government efficiency.
The hearing, titled “Stay-at-Home Federal Workforce: Another Biden-Harris Administration Legacy,” will feature testimony from Martin O’Malley, former Social Security Administration commissioner; Rachel Greszler from the Economic Policy Innovation Center; and Tom Davis, president of the Federal City Council board. Notably, O’Malley approved telework agreements for 42,000 Social Security employees lasting until 2029 before his tenure ended.
Comer has criticized the Biden administration’s telework policies, claiming they harm the federal government’s ability to deliver essential services. He also highlighted the administration’s ongoing agreements with federal employee unions to secure long-term telework arrangements, which could complicate efforts by the incoming Trump administration to revert to pre-pandemic operations.
Reports indicate that federal government buildings are underutilized, with an average occupancy rate of just 12%. A Senate report authored by Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, revealed that over 7,000 federal buildings remain vacant, and nearly 2,500 are partially empty. Comer has called for a reassessment of these policies, saying it is “past time for the federal workforce to get back to work in-person for the American people.”
The hearing will explore how prolonged telework arrangements have affected government efficiency, taxpayer costs, and service delivery. Witnesses are expected to address the implications of locking in extended telework guarantees and the challenges of reversing these agreements.
This hearing underscores Republican efforts to roll back policies tied to the Biden administration while setting the stage for the incoming Trump administration to address the issue. The debate over telework policies and their impact on federal operations is likely to remain a key focus in the months ahead.
