
A recent report by the House Oversight and Accountability Committee revealed staggering levels of government waste tied to federal telework policies. The investigation found that thousands of federal employees rarely step foot in their offices, leaving taxpayers responsible for billions in costs for nearly empty office spaces.
Rep. James Comer (R-KY), who chairs the committee, criticized the Biden-Harris administration for enabling this inefficiency. “Allowing federal employees to prioritize working from home over serving the public wastes taxpayer dollars and fails to deliver results,” Comer stated. He accused the administration of caving to union demands at the expense of effective governance.
The committee’s findings showed that 228,000 federal employees are never required to report in person, and most telework-eligible employees work from home the majority of the week. Some agencies, such as the Department of Education, reported remote work rates as high as 55%. Despite this, the federal government continues to spend $7 billion annually on office leases and maintenance.
Unused federal office space is another glaring problem. A Government Accountability Office report highlighted that several agencies are using less than 25% of their available building capacity. In some cases, occupancy rates are as low as 9%, yet taxpayers continue to fund empty offices.
Adding to the problem, outgoing Biden officials have locked in telework guarantees through union agreements lasting until 2029. This move severely restricts the incoming Trump administration’s ability to address these inefficiencies and implement reforms to hold federal workers accountable.
Lawmakers on the committee proposed several reforms, including limiting telework to pre-pandemic levels, cutting unnecessary office space and renegotiating union contracts. Comer expressed a commitment to working with President Donald Trump to eliminate waste and restore accountability within the federal workforce.