While working from home the other day, an email popped into my inbox from Republican Iowa U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst.
The headline read “Ernst demands bubble bath bureaucrats get back to work.”
Bubble baths? Oh no. They came after old light bulbs, and I said nothing. They came after gas stoves, and I said nothing. War was declared on meat. But I didn’t enlist.
Now, are they coming after our bubble baths? I still said nothing. I just rolled my eyes at the lengths Republicans will go to in manufacturing outrage.
Turns out Ernst was bashing federal employees who are working remotely.
Our senator is demanding an investigation into every major federal department to figure out what effect remote work is having on the delivery of public services. The senator is especially peeved that some federal workers are receiving Washington, D.C.-level salaries even though they work remotely in places with a lower cost of living.
Ernst is late to the party. In May, the House Oversight Committee demanded a similar investigation. The Office of Personnel Management is collecting more data on remote work from federal agencies. Last month, the Biden administration announced new policies aimed at `pushing federal workers back into the office.
But Ernst isn’t waiting for an investigation. She’s already leveling charges. She, for instance, contends remote work is slowing down response time in the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Social Security Adminsitation and other agencies. And, apparently, a VA worker who schedules veterans’ care appointments called into a meeting while basking in a bubble bath and posted it on socials media.
The VA is also moving to curtail remote work.
Newsletter Signup
Delivered to your inbox daily
"’It's taxpayer money that they are stealing,” Ernst said on Fox News. ‘So, we're gonna figure this out, but I want federal employees to know this is a warning shot to them. They better make it right, or we're coming after them.’"
Beware of the Bureau of Bubble Bath Investigation. They have snorkels.
The bath meeting was dumb, to be sure. And I have no problem with Congress wanting more information on whether remote work is working.
There are a lot of federal employees working remotely. A survey pf 4,700 workers by the Federal News Network found 30 percent of federal employees are working exclusively by remote and 62 percent have hybrid schedules. Among the hybrid workers, most worked remotely four days each week.
But Ernst really isn’t interested in fact-finding. She wants to smack the Biden administration and depict all federal employees as overpaid and lazy. She’s grandstanding to stoke phony outrage. We’re coming after them, as if they’re some enemy.
It’s one more example of Republicans working overtime to make us believe our government is always useless and should be dismantled. We’ve got GOP presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy out here claiming he’ll cut 75 percent of the federal workforce. That will be great news for wealthy GOP donors tired of following stupid environmental, health and safety rules.
This is the same senator who believed doctors were making up COVID cases during the pandemic to get extra federal funding. Fact check: Not true.
Federal staff who work from home are not necessarily lazy. Every organization has slackers. Nor are they stealing taxpayer dollars. Republicans talk often about running government like a business. Well, this is how business is done now, post-health emergency, at least if you want to recruit and hire talented people who no longer feel the need to occupy a cubicle for eight hours daily.
Remote work, for some, can increase productivity and morale. With the high cost of gas and the lack of available, affordable child care, it can take a lot of financial pressure off families. Well, that is, until Ernst comes after them.
For example, the National Science Foundation, thanks to remote work allowances, was able to recruit and hire scientists from all over the nation. How terrible.
Ernst’s ploy will have the life cycle of a soap bubble. But her penchant for spreading nonsense is endless.
(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com
www.thegazette.com
The headline read “Ernst demands bubble bath bureaucrats get back to work.”
Bubble baths? Oh no. They came after old light bulbs, and I said nothing. They came after gas stoves, and I said nothing. War was declared on meat. But I didn’t enlist.
Now, are they coming after our bubble baths? I still said nothing. I just rolled my eyes at the lengths Republicans will go to in manufacturing outrage.
Turns out Ernst was bashing federal employees who are working remotely.
Our senator is demanding an investigation into every major federal department to figure out what effect remote work is having on the delivery of public services. The senator is especially peeved that some federal workers are receiving Washington, D.C.-level salaries even though they work remotely in places with a lower cost of living.
Ernst is late to the party. In May, the House Oversight Committee demanded a similar investigation. The Office of Personnel Management is collecting more data on remote work from federal agencies. Last month, the Biden administration announced new policies aimed at `pushing federal workers back into the office.
But Ernst isn’t waiting for an investigation. She’s already leveling charges. She, for instance, contends remote work is slowing down response time in the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Social Security Adminsitation and other agencies. And, apparently, a VA worker who schedules veterans’ care appointments called into a meeting while basking in a bubble bath and posted it on socials media.
The VA is also moving to curtail remote work.
Opinion Newsletter Signup
Newsletter Signup
"’It's taxpayer money that they are stealing,” Ernst said on Fox News. ‘So, we're gonna figure this out, but I want federal employees to know this is a warning shot to them. They better make it right, or we're coming after them.’"
Beware of the Bureau of Bubble Bath Investigation. They have snorkels.
The bath meeting was dumb, to be sure. And I have no problem with Congress wanting more information on whether remote work is working.
There are a lot of federal employees working remotely. A survey pf 4,700 workers by the Federal News Network found 30 percent of federal employees are working exclusively by remote and 62 percent have hybrid schedules. Among the hybrid workers, most worked remotely four days each week.
But Ernst really isn’t interested in fact-finding. She wants to smack the Biden administration and depict all federal employees as overpaid and lazy. She’s grandstanding to stoke phony outrage. We’re coming after them, as if they’re some enemy.
It’s one more example of Republicans working overtime to make us believe our government is always useless and should be dismantled. We’ve got GOP presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy out here claiming he’ll cut 75 percent of the federal workforce. That will be great news for wealthy GOP donors tired of following stupid environmental, health and safety rules.
This is the same senator who believed doctors were making up COVID cases during the pandemic to get extra federal funding. Fact check: Not true.
Federal staff who work from home are not necessarily lazy. Every organization has slackers. Nor are they stealing taxpayer dollars. Republicans talk often about running government like a business. Well, this is how business is done now, post-health emergency, at least if you want to recruit and hire talented people who no longer feel the need to occupy a cubicle for eight hours daily.
Remote work, for some, can increase productivity and morale. With the high cost of gas and the lack of available, affordable child care, it can take a lot of financial pressure off families. Well, that is, until Ernst comes after them.
For example, the National Science Foundation, thanks to remote work allowances, was able to recruit and hire scientists from all over the nation. How terrible.
Ernst’s ploy will have the life cycle of a soap bubble. But her penchant for spreading nonsense is endless.
(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com
Opinion: Beware of Joni Ernst’s bubble bath police
Ernst is bashing federal employees who are working remotely
www.thegazette.com
