Kennedy champions ROOMIE Act to require in-person work requirements for federal agency employees

WASHINGTON - Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today reintroduced the Reinforce Occupancy Obligations for Maximized Interagency Efficiency (ROOMIE) Act to establish in-person work requirements for employees of federal agencies. The bill would also direct federal agencies to make efficient use of their office space.

"It's past time that employees of federal agencies work in person. Right now, bureaucrats are wasting office space and Americans' tax dollars. The ROOMIE Act would save money by demanding efficiency and hard work from federal employees," said Kennedy.

The ROOMIE Act would:

• Require each federal agency to make sure that at least 80% of its employees work in-person from Monday through Friday of each week.

• Direct federal agencies to use at least 60% of their office space or give up that space so that a private business could purchase or re-lease it for more efficient purposes.

Background:

• A review by the Government Accountability Office found that 17 federal agencies used, on average, 25% or less of the office space they owned or leased.

• The General Services Administration (GSA) found that, when federal agencies underutilize government buildings, the buildings may pose health risks. In several federally controlled buildings, GSA found legionella, a bacterium that can cause infections and death. Legionella can spread easily when water is stagnant because remote workers have left buildings largely unoccupied.

The full bill text is available here.