WIBW-TV Topeka, Kan.
Federal office workers urged to return to the office as backlogs mount
By Sarah Motter
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - Federal officer workers have been urged by U.S. Senators to return to the office as many face unprecedented and mounting backlogs.
U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) says he joined Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and 40 of their Senate colleagues on Thursday, Nov. 4, to urge the Office of Personnel Management, the General Services Administration and the Office of Management and Budget to immediately transition federal workers back to in-person operations.
In the letter, Sen. Moran said the senators cite “widespread lack of responsiveness and accessibility across the federal government on account of current agency work plans,” which have kept employees out of the office and have added to substantial delays for government service.
“Businesses have now reopened, children and teachers have returned to in-person learning, and health care and public safety workers continue to show up for work,” the senators wrote. “Yet we continue to hear from constituents in our states about a lack of responsiveness from federal agencies.”
“We understand the unique challenges that COVID-19 has presented, but Americans continue to face unprecedented delays in accessing their federal government,” the senators continued. “This is unacceptable. It is now time to bring back our federal workers and deliver the service that the American people have been promised and expect of their government.”
Moran said the letter follows months of delays from President Joe Biden’s Administration on implementation of plans for agencies to return to work in the office and to address mounting backlogs of cases that have arisen while employees continue to work from home.
The senators said they cited the following examples of the impact the extended absence has had on government services:
- Department of Veterans Affairs - As of August 30, 2021, there were almost 182,000 claims at the Department of Veterans Affairs that were backlogged because of a pause of in-person Compensation and Pension examinations last year.
- Internal Revenue Service - As of October 2, 2021, the IRS had 6.8 million unprocessed individual 2020 tax year returns.
- State Department - The wait time to get a new passport is now 12 to 18 weeks.
- Social Security Administration - Social Security offices throughout the country have been closed except for those beneficiaries who make an appointment and are deemed to be in “dire need.” Social Security recipients have been forced to use unreliable mail services to send personal identifying information or paperwork to local field offices as most offices will not accept these documents in person.
On June 10, 2021, Moran said GSA, OMB and OPM issued a memo about the return of federal employees and contractors to physical workplaces. He said the deadline to submit plans was July 19, however, given Biden’s new vaccine mandate and the spread of the Delta variant, many agencies have had to produce new plans that are still unavailable to the general public and Congress, despite ongoing requests.
As the senators write, Moran said only one agency out of 20 was able to provide a plan for its employees.
The letter was also signed by Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), James Inhofe (R-Okla.), John Kennedy (R-La.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), James Risch (R-Idaho), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), John Thune (R-S.D)., Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Patrick Toomey (R-Pa.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.).