Van Hollen Statement on the Telework Improvements Act
Washington,
Nov 18, 2010 -
Madam Speaker, as a representative of a district with a large number of federal employees, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1722, The Telework Improvements Act. I want to thank Chairmen Towns and Lynch and Representative Sarbanes for their leadership in crafting this important bi-partisan bill.
The Telework Improvements Act makes administrative, fiscal and environmental sense. If passed, the measure will save money for the American taxpayers, make government operations more efficient, and put the federal government on equal footing with many private sector employers and state governments which allow their employees to perform many of their duties and responsibilities from home or at another work site.
Passing this bill will help attract more workers to government service. There is an effort underway to encourage more young people to work for the federal government to offset the growing number of older employees who are retiring. Offering prospective employees the option to telework increases the possibility that those employees with families will join the federal workforce.
Passing this bill is smart fiscal policy. According to the Office of Personnel Management, during the blizzard that hit Washington, DC last winter, the government lost tens of millions of dollars worth of productivity for each day it remained closed. This number might have been far larger had some federal workers not had the opportunity to work from home. The bill will also reduce costs for taxpayers by lowering absenteeism.
Passing this bill makes environmental sense. Increasing teleworking opportunities for employees of the country's largest employer means fewer cars on the roads and lower carbon emissions. According to the Telework Exchange, if 20% of Americans teleworked, we could eliminate 67 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually and reduce Persian Gulf oil imports by 40%.
Madam Speaker, passing The Telework Improvements Act will save money for the taxpayer, help ease pressure on the environment and make the government run more efficiently. The bill is also PAYGO compliant.
I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting the bill and I urge its immediate passage.
Congressman Chris Van Hollen
