The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability is questioning the timing of a recent email sent by the Biden administration directing agency officials to reduce telework and return federal employees to in-person work in greater numbers.
Axios reported last month that White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients sent an email to Cabinet members in which he stated, “We are returning to in-person work because it is critical to the well-being of our teams and will enable us to deliver better results for the American people.” Reuters confirmed the report.
Zients added in his email, “As we look towards the fall, and with the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency, your agencies will be implementing increases in the amount of in-person work for your team. This is a priority of the President — and I am looking to each of you to aggressively execute this shift in September and October.”
The House Oversight Committee has been actively investigating the federal government’s expanded use of telework despite the COVID-19 pandemic being over. President Biden declared in an interview a year ago that the pandemic is over, and then on May 11, 2023, he also formally ended the COVID-19 emergency declaration. The federal employee vaccine mandate was repealed at the same time.
House Oversight Committee members sent 25 letters to various federal agencies in May to determine what the effects of the elevated levels of telework have been on agency performance and service to the American people.
The letters stated:
The Biden Administration has allowed agencies to continue levels of telework and remote work that are significantly higher than before the pandemic. The Administration, however, has not provided current data about the specific amount of telework occurring within federal agencies or across the entire federal workforce. Furthermore, it has provided no objective evidence concerning the impact of elevated telework on agency performance – including any deleterious impacts.
On August 4, 2023, the House Oversight Committee sent more letters to most of the same agencies asking why agency officials appeared to be withholding information from Congress because most agencies didn’t respond to the first one. The letters stated, “The purpose of our oversight is to ensure that in the shift to widespread telework and remote work that agencies are able to hold employees accountable and accomplish their missions. In the absence of relevant information, we are left to make assumptions and draw conclusions.”
A new letter sent by the Committee on August 31, 2023, went to Zients asking about the timing of the Biden administration’s apparent desire to start reducing telework. The letter states:
By coincidence, on the same day the Committee sent its follow-up letters, you sent an email to agency heads stressing the importance of transitioning away from telework to return more federal employees to in-person work. Your letter stated that “aggressively” increasing in-person work is a priority for President Biden, and that doing so would allow the executive branch “to deliver better results for the American people” by improving “teamwork… and productivity” within the federal workforce. By suggesting that in-person work would lead to improved outcomes, your email implies that the Biden Administration’s widespread use of post-pandemic federal telework has resulted in reduced productivity, diminished customer service, and worse overall returns for the American taxpayer. With the worst effects of the COVID pandemic long behind us, the timing and motivation of the Administration’s sudden push for increased in-person work calls for a more formal explanation.
The letter goes on to ask the White House for the following information:
- What motivated the White House’s call for federal agencies to transition away from telework to more in-person work;
- Whether the Committee’s May 18, 2023, or August 4, 2023,—or any other congressional inquiries about post-pandemic federal telework—contributed to the White House’s sudden push to increase in-person work;
- a. If responding to Question 2 in the negative, explain why the Biden Administration acted when it did to push for increased in-person work, and why the Administration did not act earlier;
- Whether the White House had become aware of diminished performance by federal employees under the Biden Administration’s post-pandemic telework policy;
- If responding to Question 3 in the negative, why did Mr. Zients’ August 4 email to cabinet leadership state that a transition to more in-person work would “deliver better results for the American people” and “[increase]… productivity;”
- If responding to Question 3 in the affirmative, explain in what ways and to what extent performance by federal employees was impacted by the Biden Administration’s post-pandemic telework policy.
The text of the letter is included below.
House Committee Letter to White House Regarding Telework
Mr. Jeffrey Zients
Chief of Staff
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. Zients:
August 31, 2023
The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is conducting oversight of the Biden Administration’s post-pandemic telework and remote work policies for federal employees. As you are likely aware, the Committee sent letters to 25 federal agencies on May 18, 2023, requesting data and details necessary to assess the potential impact of expanded telework on agency mission accomplishment.1 Despite our reasonable request for information, our first letter was largely ignored until we sent follow-up communications to the unresponsive agencies on August 4.2
By coincidence, on the same day the Committee sent its follow-up letters, you sent an email to agency heads stressing the importance of transitioning away from telework to return more federal employees to in-person work.3 Your letter stated that “aggressively” increasing in- person work is a priority for President Biden, and that doing so would allow the executive branch “to deliver better results for the American people” by improving “teamwork… and productivity” within the federal workforce.4 By suggesting that in-person work would lead to improved outcomes, your email implies that the Biden Administration’s widespread use of post-pandemic federal telework has resulted in reduced productivity, diminished customer service, and worse overall returns for the American taxpayer. With the worst effects of the COVID pandemic long behind us, the timing and motivation of the Administration’s sudden push for increased in-person work calls for a more formal explanation.
The American people deserve to understand the Biden Administration’s post-pandemic telework policy and the thinking behind the Biden Administration’s rapidly evolving telework posture. Accordingly, the Committee requests point-for-point responses to the following questions, as soon as possible but no later than September 14, 2023, to understand:
- What motivated the White House’s call for federal agencies to transition away from telework to more in-person work;
- Whether the Committee’s May 18, 2023, or August 4, 2023,—or any other congressional inquiries about post-pandemic federal telework—contributed to the White House’s sudden push to increase in-person work;
- a. If responding to Question 2 in the negative, explain why the Biden Administration acted when it did to push for increased in-person work, and why the Administration did not act earlier;
- Whether the White House had become aware of diminished performance by federal employees under the Biden Administration’s post-pandemic telework policy;
- If responding to Question 3 in the negative, why did Mr. Zients’ August 4 email to cabinet leadership state that a transition to more in-person work would “deliver better results for the American people” and “[increase]… productivity;”
- If responding to Question 3 in the affirmative, explain in what ways and to what extent performance by federal employees was impacted by the Biden Administration’s post-pandemic telework policy.
An attachment to this letter provides additional instructions for responding to the Committee’s request. To make arrangements to deliver documents or ask any related follow-up questions, please contact Committee on Oversight and Accountability Majority Staff at (202) 225-5074.
The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is the principal oversight committee of the U.S. House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate “any matter” at “any time” under House Rule X. Thank you in advance for your cooperation with this inquiry.
Sincerely,
James Comer, Chairman, Committee on Oversight and Accountability
Lauren Boebert, Member of Congress
Pete Sessions, Chairman, Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce
