11.04.21

Hoeven Urges Federal Workforce to Return to In-Person Work

Getting Federal Employees Back in the Office Will Help Better Address Backlog of Constituent Cases

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today joined Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) in urging the heads of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to transition federal workers back to in-person operations immediately. The letter follows months of delays from the Biden Administration on implementing plans for agencies to return their workforce to the office, and to address the mounting backlog of cases that arose while workers were working from home. 

“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. Yet we continue to hear from constituents in our states about a lack of responsiveness from federal agencies,” the senators wrote. “We understand the unique challenges that COVID-19 has presented, but Americans continue to face unprecedented delays in accessing their federal government. This is unacceptable." 

In addition to Hoeven and Wicker, the letter is signed by Senators 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.), 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.), Jerry Moran (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.), Pat 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.). 

Text of the full letter is available here. 

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