Comer Reintroduces Legislation Requiring Federal Workers to Show Up to the Office

WASHINGTON-House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) today reintroduced the Stopping Home Office Work's Unproductive Problems (SHOW UP) Act (H.R. 473) for the 119th Congress. This bill, which previously passed the House last Congress, prevents agencies from locking in long-term levels of pandemic-era telework without developing plans to justify how telework supports agency performance and lowers taxpayer expenses.

"The pandemic is long over and it's past time for the federal workforce to show up to the office to better fulfill agencies' missions and serve the American people. The Biden Administration has sought to cement pandemic-era telework for federal employees despite providing no evidence that telework is working for the American people. To the contrary, our investigation reveals federal telework has harmed the fulfillment of agency missions and the delivery of critical services to the American people, while hiking taxpayer costs as federal buildings sit empty in the Washington, D.C. area. We look forward to advancing this bill and working with President Trump to ensure the federal workforce shows up for the American people to accomplish their work efficiently and effectively," said Chairman James Comer.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, employers across the United States significantly expanded telework. After the pandemic ended, organizations safely reopened, and many began returning employees to their worksites. However, this has not been the case for certain federal government employees. Using the pandemic experience as an excuse, the Biden Administration expanded telework for federal employees with no concern for the impact on agency performance.

With over 2.2 million civilian employees spread across hundreds of agencies, the federal government is the nation's largest employer. As of May 2024, according to data from the Biden Administration, the vast majority of federal office workers-more than one million employees-either engage in telework or work exclusively from home. These high levels of remote work have left federal office spaces largely underutilized. As of March 2024, 17 of the 24 largest federal agencies were using an estimated 25 percent or less of the capacity of their headquarters buildings.

Key Provisions of the SHOW UP Act:

• Requires federal agencies to reduce telework to not more than 2019 levels within 30 days;
• Requires federal agencies to submit to Congress retrospective studies within six months detailing how pandemic-era telework levels impacted their missions-including adverse effects on services, network security, and costs for real property and locality pay; and
• Prevents federal agencies from expanding telework without submitting to Congress plans certified by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) that detail how such policies will:
  • Substantially improve agency mission-performance;
  • Substantially lower agency costs for real property and locality pay;
  • Ensure security for agency networks, data and records;
  • Accelerate the dispersal of federal jobs across the nation and outside the Beltway.

Original cosponsors of the bill are Representatives Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), Eric Burlison (R-Mo.), Michael Cloud (R-Texas), Eli Crane (R-Ariz.), Pat Fallon (R-Texas), Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.), Clay Higgins (R-La.), Brian Jack (R-Ga.), Nick Langworthy (R-N.Y.), John McGuire (R-Va.), Gary Palmer (R-Ala.), Scott Perry (R-Pa.), Pete Sessions (R-Texas), and William Timmons (R-S.C.).

Read the bill text here .

Read More:

House Oversight Committee Releases Report on the Biden-Harris Administration's Efforts to Keep Federal Bureaucrats at Home Hearing Wrap Up: The Biden Administration's Enhanced Telework for Bureaucrats Jeopardizes Agency Missions and Critical Services to the American People