Republicans in the House are pushing for more stringent requirements for federal workers to return to their offices, threatening to withhold funding for agencies that continue to allow many employees to work remotely.
But the proposal, introduced as part of a sweeping Republican-sponsored bill aimed at reining in government spending, is facing pushback from Democrats, who argue that many of the bill’s provisions would leave the federal government dangerously underfunded.
It’s the latest attempt by the Republican majority in the House to compel federal workers to return to their offices, and it comes several months after the Biden administration directed federal agencies to plan a return to work, though with less stringent requirements.
The Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee held a markup Thursday for the Fiscal Year 2024 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Bill, which, among other things, would rescind more than $10 billion already approved for the Internal Revenue Service and cut funding for scores of other agencies from fiscal 2023 levels. Among the provisions is a proposal that would block funding “for each agency until they reinstate telework policies, practices, and levels in effect on December 31, 2019.”
