Washington, Nov 18 -

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague, Mr. Issa, for yielding and for giving me the opportunity to speak on this bill.

Since the stimulus passed in February of 2009, the private sector has shed over 3.2 million jobs, and our national unemployment now stands at a staggering 9.5%.  With the rest of America struggling to make ends meet, it is laughable that my Democratic colleagues think that we should give another perk to federal employees.

By requiring federal agencies to duplicate an existing law and allowing them to spend a portion of their official time out of the office and on a mobile work site, H.R. 1722 will cost the taxpayers another $30 million dollars while promoting an inefficient federal workforce.

Mr. Speaker, this is now the third time the House will consider this legislation.  When H.R. 1722 initially failed to pass under suspension of the rules in May, the Democratic Majority brought it up again under a closed rule in July.  It was only then that my Republican colleagues and I had the opportunity to amend this bill through a successful Motion to Recommit which made a number of improvements to the legislation.

However, as H.R. 1722 was considered in the Senate, the Motion to Recommit was completely dismantled.  A provision that required an agency to certify to the Office of Personnel Management that the agency’s telework program will save money rather than increasing spending was stripped from the bill.

Furthermore Mr. Speaker, a provision that would prohibit federal employees with seriously delinquent tax debts from teleworking was removed.  A third item required employees of the Executive Office of the President to copy their official email accounts on any business communications that are made on personal email and social media counts.  This would ensure that federal employees are ACTUALLY working instead of socializing on official time.  This requirement is now gone.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, I am most disappointed that the provision—included in the House passed version of H.R. 1722—that would have prohibited federal employees from engaging in union recruiting or collective bargaining activities while teleworking on official, taxpayer funded, time has been removed by Senate Democrats.

OPM reported that in Fiscal Year 2008 alone, nearly 3 million official time hours were used in collective bargaining or arbitration of grievances against an employer.  This equates to over $120 million tax dollars spent on union activities, Mr. Speaker.  It is irresponsible to use these dollars for non-related official duties while on official time.

Mr. Speaker, the Motion to Recommit was necessary to save precious tax dollars and ensure the integrity of the federal workforce.  How will we obtain the trust of the American people—who are struggling every day in this economy—if we allow federal employees to participate in union activities while on official time, give them benefits when they are delinquent on their taxes, and increase spending in federal agencies trying to make this flawed teleworking system work?

Now is not the time to increase the bureaucratic maze in Washington, but to rein in the overlapping, redundant policies that have made the federal government so large.  We must reduce spending and diligently work towards a more efficient and more effective government that can live within its means.

I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill, and I yield back.