Half of Government Offices STILL Empty and Cabinet Members ‘Abuse’ Telework Policy: Republicans Demand Biden Step Up Fight to Get Remote Federal Employees Back to Work

Republicans are increasing pressure on President Biden to bring remote federal workers back to work.

A shocking report late last year found that all federal agencies are at less than 50 percent capacity, wasting an estimated $2.8 million per day.

That’s a staggering statistic, considering federal agencies spend about $2 billion annually in taxpayer dollars to operate and maintain federal office buildings — and more than $5 billion annually on leases.

House Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., is taking action to ensure accountability on the part of the Biden administration by demanding “evidence” of plans for a return to office.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) wrote to all agencies in April 2023 saying the “expectation” is that they would increase in-person work in federal offices — but they have not followed the guidance.

Comer says in a letter obtained by DailyMail.com to OMB Director Shalanda Young that the public’s “perception” of federal agencies is being “damaged” by reports that federal employees are resisting Biden’s demand for more in-person work.

As a result, he is requesting that OMB provide a “status report” on any agency plans to increase office work and identify any resistance from the federal workforce.

Earlier this month, Biden’s chief of staff Jeffrey Zients instructed cabinet heads to ensure their staff return to the office this year.

According to a memo obtained by DailyMail.com, he wrote that federal employees must spend at least 50 percent of their work time in the office to achieve the government’s goals.

Zients emphasized the State Department’s “expectation” that all employees be in the office at least three to four times a week, because there is “no substitute” for “face-to-face” contact when it comes to diplomacy.

But he also acknowledged that “some of your agencies are not where they need to be.”

Comer acknowledges Zients’ memo in his letter, saying Republicans join the chief of staff in “demanding proof” of plans for return to office and advancement.

“In addition to efforts to increase in-person work, this highlights concerns that the federal workforce believes it can do whatever it sees fit, regardless of which administration is in charge,” Comer and subcommittee chairman Pete Sessions added.

Earlier this month after Biden’s Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin’s secret hospital admission also raised serious questions about the government’s work-from-home policy.

The Defense Minister was released from hospital last Monday after 15 days of recovery following surgery for prostate cancer on December 22.

After being hospitalized for complications on January 1, he did not tell President Biden where he was until three days later.

Earlier this month after Biden’s Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin’s secret hospital admission also raised serious questions about the government’s work-from-home policy

After Austin was hospitalized for complications on January 1, he did not tell President Biden where he was until three days later.

It also came to light that the president was unaware that Austin was under general anesthesia during the first surgery and that Austin’s staff believed he was simply working from home the week of the procedure.

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, raised questions about the frequency with which Cabinet heads worked from home after Austin went “AWOL” for days.

She wrote a letter to OMB Director Shalanda Young last week, first obtained by DailyMail.com, asking about the “frequency” of Austin’s work-from-home schedule.

“Does Secretary Austin work from home so much that he can disappear into the hospital for an entire week to undergo invasive surgery, and people just think he’s working from home again?” she asked.