MR. SARBANES OF MARYLAND.  Mister Speaker, I rise in support of National Telework Week.

Beginning on Monday, February 14th, thousands of Americans will perform at least one full day of work from their homes or alternate work spaces rather than their traditional offices.  It is estimated that about one-third of carbon emissions in the United States are transportation-related, yet the U.S. embraces workforce management practices that encourage long commutes and excessive travel.  This pragmatic, common sense workforce management strategy will provide meaningful relief to workers in the national capital region and across the country. 

Late last year, Congress made the United States Government a leader in the movement toward flexible workplaces—significantly expanding telework opportunities for most federal workers.  On December 9th, President Obama signed into law the Sarbanes-Wolf-Connolly Telework Enhancement Act of 2010.  The product of over three years of bipartisan, bicameral cooperation, the new law requires all Federal agencies to establish a uniform telework policy, ensuring that most employees who wish to telework are able to do so.  The Telework Enhancement Act requires Federal agencies to develop training programs for teleworkers and managers, to include telework in continuity of operations plans, and to designate a Telework Managing Officer to lead the telework program at each agency.

This new law will not only increase efficiency in the Federal government, it will strengthen our national security.   By including telework in continuity of operations plans, we can ensure vital services continue in the event of an emergency.  The best evidence of this was last year, when a snowstorm shut down the government for nearly a week.  During that period, federal employees with the ability to telework were able to continue to operate.  According to John Berry, the Director of Office of Personnel Management, the Federal government saved approximately $30 million per day that would have been otherwise lost.

Telework provides numerous benefits to strengthen our economy and enhance employee work-life balance.  The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office features a robust telework program and has seen substantial increases in employee productivity and morale since its inception.  By implementing an agency-wide telework program, the Patent and Trademark Office has avoided securing $11 million in additional office space and has developed a more competitive recruitment process.  Telework now enables the agency to draw from a talent pool of qualified candidates living anywhere in the country. 

In 2009, then-Governor Tim Kaine instituted Telework Day in the Commonwealth of Virginia.  For one day, more than 4,000 pledged to telework.  Pledges collectively removed more than 82 tons of pollutants from harming our environment, saved more than $124,000, and avoided driving 140,000 miles— all in just one day.  As of January 31, 2011, more than 7,900 people have already pledged to telework at least one day across the nation. These pledges will collectively save more than $470,000 in commuting costs and remove more than 317 tons of pollutants from the environment. 

In his State of the Union address, the President challenged us to reinvigorate America’s competitiveness.  He set the goal of “connecting every part of America to the digital age.”  Telework allows us to leverage today’s technological advances, developed by America’s pioneering companies, to enhance our nation’s efficiency, improve the environment, ensure our safety, and elevate our quality of life.  As we struggle through another winter marked by agency closures, unprecedented traffic jams and millions of dollars in lost productivity, National Telework Week should serve as a clarion call to the Administration to expeditiously implement the new Telework law and as a demonstration of the incredible benefits of a robust federal telework policy.