Bring government employees back to the office or SELL the unused space, Biden told: With federal buildings 75% empty, Republicans say end remote work from bubble baths and golf courses or hold a ‘clearance sale’

Republicans say billions in taxpayers’ money have been wasted through unused federal office space and workers taking advantage of the White House’s liberal work-from-home policies.

Damaging reports reveal that government employees have attended meetings while taking a hot tub, still getting paid on the golf course, and attending happy hours while on the job.

According to the Government Accountability Office, more than 75 percent of available office space at 17 different federal agencies is still vacant.

Now the Republican Party has a message for the White House: get workers back to work or sell the offices to pay off the rising national debt.

The Biden administration last month told federal employees to come back to office, and local officials in Washington have said the vacant buildings are hurting the economy.

Agencies spend about $2 billion a year operating and maintaining federal office buildings and more than $5 billion a year on leases.

Senator Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, told DailyMail.com that Biden should hold a “sale on unused office space” — which could help pay off $32.9 trillion in US national debt.

Since the Biden administration allowed federal agencies to greenlight remote work for staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, federal employees have taken advantage of the situation

Federal employees have taken advantage of Biden’s telecommuting policy of working from bathtubs, playing pool and checking out of happy hour early as the passport backlog continues and veterans have to wait months for appointments with their doctors.

An Atlanta Department of Veterans Affairs employee posted a series of Instagram stories from March from the bathtub with the caption, “My office for the next hour.”

The post shows his government-issued computer sitting on a stand opened during a staff meeting, while his bare legs lie in the bubble bath.

Ernst said the “impact of telecommuting” on fulfilling an agency’s mission should be “evaluated.”

“Many officials, such as meat inspectors or airport security officers, don’t have the luxury of working from home, let alone a hot tub.”

The Iowa senator wrote to a handful of agency inspectors generals earlier this week expressing concern about their misuse of taxpayers’ money.

She says reducing the amount of space at some agencies would help reduce waste. In particular, reducing office space at the headquarters of the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) alone would save taxpayers $30 million a year.

The senator also called out a USPTO patent examiner who “never showed up for work” and “got $25,000 for 730 hours of no work” while he was playing golf and doing other activities.

Biden’s chief of staff Jeff Zients issued a directive ordering all federal employees to return to the office this fall after years of remote work.

“We are returning to personal work because it is critical to the well-being of our teams and will enable us to deliver better outcomes for the American people,” Zients said in a letter to all cabinet heads, adding that it is a ” priority of the president.”

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and Representatives Pete Sessions, R-Texas, and Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., wrote a letter to the Biden administration this week asking whether the telecommuting policy led to reduced productivity.

They also requested information on exactly how many federal employees continue to work from home three years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. They say they have been opposed by the government so far.

“Two options are currently underway: either federal agencies are withholding information from Congress, or federal agencies are not updating policies on telecommuting and remote work as required by law. Both possibilities are very concerning,” say Comer, Sessions and Boebert.

They threatened “mandatory action” if the administration does not provide the requested information. That could come in the form of official subpoenas.

Comer told DailyMail.com it is “past the day” for the Biden administration to get federal employees back in the office.

“It is unacceptable that the Biden administration has continued the pandemic-era telecommuting policy when the pandemic has been over for some time,” he continued.

They’re looking at occupancy rates for their Washington, DC offices — and in a hint at resource conservation, they’re asking if they’ve made plans to adjust their “real estate footprint” based on current plans.

Comer cited reports that only a third of federal employees have returned to the office since the pandemic began.

In February, the House of Representatives passed the SHOWUP bill, which aims to restore telecommuting levels to pre-pandemic levels.

In the Senate, Senator Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., introduced a companion bill to the SHOWUP Act.

She said: “It is illogical that VA employees can work from a hot tub when organizations across the country have reopened safely.”

The attempt to release more information about the schemes is not new. Republican Senator Ron Johnson, R-Wis., sent similar letters in 2021.

Johnson told DailyMail.com that, with “few exceptions,” 34 federal agencies “ignored” his requests to provide the number of employees telecommuting.

“The Biden administration’s wholly inadequate responses to even the most basic, legitimate oversight questions highlight this administration’s lack of transparency and apparent disregard for congressional oversight,” he continued.

The Biden administration officially ended the COVID-19 emergency in May.

House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer has written to federal agencies requesting information about how many employees they telecommute

The White House said ending the federal telecommuting policy is a “President’s priority.”

Republicans threaten “mandatory action” if the government does not provide the requested information

Republicans questioned Kiran Ahuja, director of Office Personnel Management, at a March hearing on federal telecommuting policies — at a time when agencies are facing retirement and retention issues.

“While COVID no longer drives our staffing decisions, employers have updated tools and knowledge about managing employees in hybrid work environments and the benefits to their customers,” she said.

Ahuja said the policy has had a “positive impact on workplace flexibility in areas such as productivity, engagement and diversification of the talent pool.”

Without explicitly saying that employees are taking it easy, the letter asks agency heads to “describe the management protocols your agency has implemented to ensure that employees adhere to the terms of a telecommuting agreement or otherwise maintain their fulfill official duties.’