House Passes Telework Legislation with Issa Edit
The House passed legislation to expand telework opportunities for federal workers after Republicans successfully tweaked it to their liking in a last-minute effort on the House floor Wednesday. The House voted 290-131 to approve an amended bill after voting 304-118 on a measure by Oversight Committee Ranking Member Darrell Issa, R-Calif., that included changes to the bill that Issa said would ensure the legislation is “cost neutral,” as well as ensure federal employee integrity while telecommuting. The bill moves to the Senate.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
Issa said he supported the goals of telework legislation, but worried that it provided no way to measure whether the money saved would outweigh equipment and other costs. The bill was introduced on a bipartisan basis, but Republicans were largely shut out of the discussion on its way to the House floor, Issa said. Issa sought additional language restricting which government employees may telework, describing what activities are proper for those employees, and banning telework by employees who have downloaded pornography on government computers. Republicans backed Issa’s motion, while Democrats split almost down the middle.
Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., urged rejection of the motion, saying many of Issa’s concerns had been addressed in the latest version of the bill (CD July 13 p9). The bill didn’t ask for appropriations, so it doesn’t need to include pay-for offsets, said Lynch, who led floor discussion of the legislation for Democrats. Also, some provisions in the motion, including one related to stopping collective bargaining, might step on existing laws, he said. Lynch noted that Democrats hadn’t seen the motion until “a couple minutes” earlier, when Issa offered it. Oversight Committee Chairman Ed Towns, D-N.Y., objected to Issa’s claim that Republicans hadn’t been involved in committee negotiations. “Any amendment that was offered was accepted,” he said.
While opposition was strongest from Republicans, members of both parties backed the telework bill, saying it would save money while benefiting the environment and advancing other national goals. Members from the D.C. area, including Virginia and Maryland, expressed some of the strongest support. Telework “makes so much sense for so many reasons,” said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md. The legislation will save money and ensure continuity of government during disasters, said Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va.
But some Republicans questioned the relevance of a government telework bill to their constituents. The bill “would do absolutely nothing to respond to the very real concerns facing Americans every day,” including unemployment, said Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C. Minority Whip Eric Cantor, R-Va., said the House should instead vote on legislation to stop government spending on highway signs advertising projects funded by the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act.