IFPTE Urges Representatives in the House to Vote Against Irresponsible Legislation to Undermine Federal Telework

UPDATE: The SHOW UP Act passed the House by a vote of 218 to 205. See how your Representative voted here.

Ahead of the House of Representatives floor vote on the SHOW UP Act (H.R. 139), legislation sponsored by House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) that would revert federal agencies’ telework policies back to December 2019 and undermine negotiated agreements, IFPTE requested Representatives vote against passing this costly and ill-considered bill.

IFPTE’s letter notes that:

“As federal agencies are implementing reentry to the work site, it would be an enormous mistake to revert to 2019 levels of telework. Deputy Defense Secretary Dr. Kathleen Hicks noted that “Throughout the pandemic, we learned a lot about how we can embrace telework and flexible schedules to achieve new efficiencies in the workplace.” She further added that DOD “will continue to embrace successful practices to promote a more resilient and productive workforce that can attract new talent and retain our top performers.” The SHOW UP Act would be a setback for the federal government’s ability to manage its talent and deliver all manner of important and essential services for the public and support agency mission that is critical to the economy, public safety, and national security.”

Across the federal government, IFPTE members and Locals have shown that telework works and provides advantages and flexibility for agencies and government services. IFPTE and IFPTE Locals will continue to advocate in Congress for better telework resources, policies, and data to show that telework is effective at delivering mission-critical services, improves efficiency and resiliency, and provides agencies with a tool to improve recruitment and retention. While this legislation is not expected to pass the Senate and be enacted in the 118th Congress, we will make sure lawmakers are educated on the proven advantages that agencies’ telework policies have demonstrated.

We thank IFPTE-endorsed Representative Jamie Raskin for speaking out strongly against this measure on the House floor.  He noted that the bill “would take a sledgehammer to Federal telework policy and law, which the sponsors seem completely oblivious to, and you can hardly blame them because the leadership brings this measure forward without the benefit of even a single hearing in the Oversight Committee, which means Congress has not heard from the Office of Personnel Management or any of the Federal agency chiefs, and it has not heard from any Federal workers or their collective bargaining representatives.”  Read Rep. Raskin’s full floor statement here.

Read IFPTE’s letter to the House urging Representatives to reject the SHOW UP Act.


Government, Labor RightsFaraz Khan118th Congress, Telework, federal workers