ICYMI: Inside Ernst’s Naughty List of No-Shows
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) made her Naughty List of No-Shows, and now she is checking it twice to expose Biden bureaucrats wasting taxpayer dollars on nearly vacant federal buildings. Today, she announced her “12 Agencies of Christmas,” where she will be releasing a daily “Christmas card” on social media for the worst offenders, calling these bureaucrats back into the office or demanding the Biden administration sell off this unused space.
After almost four years since COVID-19 temporarily closed federal buildings, still not a single government agency is occupying even half their office space.
Highlights from coverage of Ernst’s work include:
“Everyone hopes to be home for the holidays, but some federal workers never left home.”
Fox News: Most federal government employees continue remote work, contradicting Biden pledge
“’The Biden administration’s green hypocrisy continues to show,’ Ernst told Fox News Digital. ‘At only 17% occupancy at the EPA and 25% at the Department of Energy, imagine all those fossil fuels being emitted to heat and cool a largely empty building. Doesn’t sound very green to me!’”
“‘All the climate czars in the Biden administration should agree with me — it’s time to forfeit the unused buildings heated and cooled on the taxpayer’s dime,’ the Iowa Republican added.”
The Federalist: Ernst Exposes ‘Naughty List’ Of Federal Agencies Using As Little As 7 Percent Of DC Office Space
“The VA employee even bragged about his bubble bath conference call on social media, posting a photo with the caption ‘My office for the next h[ou]r.’ Ernst is now calling on federal agencies to work on eliminating vacant office space.”
“’It’s time for Biden’s bureaucrats to get back to work, or forfeit their expensive, unused office space,’ Ernst told The Federalist in an exclusive statement. ‘If my oversight hasn’t lit a fire under them to return to the office yet, I suppose it’s because they are extinguishing it with their bubble baths on the taxpayer’s dime. Every day this is put off, more dollars go down the drain to fuel the D.C. swamp.’”
“'The Department of Housing and Urban Development's abandoned building is a sad symbol of the failure of the Biden administration,' Ernst told DailyMail.com in an exclusive statement. 'Under Bidenflation, buying and renting is a whole lot more expensive, and instead of getting the homeless off the streets, no one is even home at HUD,' she continued.”
“The senator from Iowa is calling for the 'end' of the Biden administration allowing federal buildings to remain vacant at the taxpayers' expense.”
Townhall: How Federal Agencies Earned a Spot on Joni Ernst's Naughty List
“'Tis the season in the U.S. Senate, or at least Senator Joni Ernst's office, as the Iowa Republican rolls out her 2023 ‘Naughty List of No-Shows’ documenting the federal agencies with the lowest occupancy rates due to workforces still being MIA from their offices as COVID-era remote work allowances remain in effect.”
“With bureaucratic bloat and government waste of taxpayer dollars continuing to run out of control, Ernst is right to tackle some of the easiest and least politically charged areas to cut costs. If federal workers aren't going to use office space, get rid of the office space and save the taxpayers at least some money.”
Daily Caller: Government Memo Says Biden’s Transportation Department Uses Less Than 15% Of Office Space
“’Pete Buttigieg has done nothing to address delays for Americans trying to go home for the holidays while failing to make employees arrive at work on time’ Ernst told the DCNF. ‘As DOT’s OIG continues to drag its feet and refuse my request to expose government waste, more dollars go down the drain to fuel the D.C. swamp. It’s time for Biden’s bureaucrats to get back to work, or forfeit their expensive, unused office space or D.C salary.’”
“Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) is urging to relocate the taxpayer-funded government buildings from President Joe Biden’s ‘D.C. swamp’ to the ‘heartland’ — where they can be ‘more accountable to the hardworking Americans’ there — after disclosing a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report revealing most federal offices are largely vacant due to widespread teleworking among federal employees.”
“‘While USDA’s offices are empty, Iowa farmers are hard at work. If Biden’s bureaucrats at USDA aren’t going to show up, let’s uproot their headquarters from the mire and mud of the D.C. swamp to the heartland,’ she said. ‘Maybe this will finally make those bureaucrats creating the rules more accountable to the hardworking Americans who have to live under them!’ Ernst added.”
Washington Examiner: Joni Ernst says Biden Department of Education deserves an 'F' amid low office use
“Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) is highlighting the Department of Education's low occupancy rate of its office space in Washington, D.C., in the face of growing concerns about students dealing with the largest learning loss in 30 years after pandemic school closures.”
“The Iowa senator specifically pointed to the DOE's numbers, which had an office occupancy rate of only 17%, as a point of concern after the National Assessment of Educational Progress found the average math and reading scores for students at the age of 9 declined substantially over the past two years.”
“’Biden’s Department of Education kept our kids out of the classroom – leading to historic learning loss,’ Ernst said in a statement sent to the Washington Examiner. ‘Now that students have returned to regular learning, the bureaucrats are forgetting to show up to work, and their report card shows they should receive an F.’”
Washington Times: Idea to fill empty federal buildings with illegal immigrants solves two problems for Biden admin
“While offices sit empty, many American communities are overwhelmed by the surge of illegal immigrants whom the Biden administration has caught and released. Ms. Ernst suggested a meeting of the minds.”
“’So-called sanctuary cities have run out of space to shelter the influx of immigrants that the Biden administration is allowing to enter the country illegally. With two-thirds of the Department of Homeland Security headquarters going unused, maybe the agency causing the problem can solve it by opening their doors,’ she told The Times.”
Additional Coverage:
- Federal Times: Sen. Ernst unveils telework ‘naughty list’ of federal agencies
- Daily Mail: Empty federal offices 'are costing taxpayers $2.8 MILLION a DAY'
- Washington Examiner: Sen. Joni Ernst scrutinizes remote work by federal workers after COVID-19
- Just the News: Senator releases 'naughty list' of federal agencies with high employee no-show rates post-COVID
- Center Square: Ernst places federal agencies on 'naughty' list
- Federal News Network: Ernst tells top ‘naughty list’ agencies to use or sell underutilized office space
- Hannity.com: HAWKEYE HOLIDAY: Iowa Senator Joni Ernst Intros '12 Agencies of Christmas,' Exposing Govt. Waste
- Daily Caller: EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Ernst To Expose Taxpayer-Draining Biden Bureaucrats For 12 Days Of Christmas
Where are all of Biden’s bureaucrats? Probably home alone, eating a large cheese pizza, maybe even fending off burglars.
We know where they aren’t - at their office in Washington, D.C.!
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