‘Get back to work’: House Oversight to take on government telework in 1st hearing of new Congress

FIRST ON FOX: The House Oversight Committee is holding its first hearing of the new Congress next week focused on prolonged pandemic-era telework for federal employees, with Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., telling Fox News Digital that his priority is to bring federal workers back into office. 

The hearing, titled the “Stay-at-Home Federal Workforce: Another Biden-Harris Administration Legacy,” is scheduled to take place next Wednesday at 10 a.m. 

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Martin O’Malley, the former commissioner of the Social Security Administration; Rachel Greszler of the Economic Policy Innovation Center; and president of the board of the Federal City Council Tom Davis are set to testify. 

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, argues a point at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

O’Malley, before the end of his tenure, locked in telework agreements for 42,000 Social Security employees until 2029. 

“President Donald Trump and his incoming Administration is set to be greeted by largely vacant federal government office buildings because the federal workforce is still taking advantage of the Biden Administration’s outdated and detrimental pandemic-era telework policies,” Comer told Fox News Digital. “Not only do these telework policies jeopardize the ability of agencies to deliver vital services to the American people, but reports indicate the Biden Administration is now working with federal employee unions to cement long-term guarantees of telework.” 

Comer told Fox News Digital that President-elect Trump’s “agenda and critical services provided by the federal government should not be hindered or prevented because of unchecked federal workforce unions that are striking deals with the Biden Administration to stay at home.” 

Sunrise light hits the U.S. Capitol dome in Washington, D.C., as the 119th Congress begins on Jan. 2, 2025. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

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“It’s past time for the federal workforce to get back to work in-person for the American people,” he said. “The House Oversight Committee remains committed to ensuring federal employees show up for the American people they serve.” 

According to a Senate report authored by Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, the federal government currently owns more than 7,000 vacant buildings and nearly 2,500 buildings that are partially empty. 

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The report states that government buildings currently average an occupancy rate of 12%. 

During the hearing, the committee plans to examine how the Biden-Harris administration “failed to return federal workers to the office,” and said that failure could “hinder” the incoming Trump administration’s ability to bring them back, due to long-term guarantees of telework in deals signed with federal employee unions.