To require reporting regarding telework by employees of agencies funded under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024.

SA 1177. Ms. ERNST submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 1092 submitted by Mrs. Murray (for herself and Ms.
Collins) and intended to be proposed to the bill H.R. 4366, making
appropriations for military construction, the Department of Veterans
Affairs, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30,
2024, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as
follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. 4. REPORTING REGARDING TELEWORK.

(a) Definitions.--In this section, the terms ``employee'',
``locality pay area'', ``locality rate'', and ``official
worksite'' have the meanings given those terms in section
531.602 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations.
(b) Reporting Requirement.--Not later than 30 days after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary for each
agency funded under division A, division B, or division C of
this Act shall submit to Congress a report containing--
(1) the number of employees of the agency or department
who, based upon information technology login information,
office swipe-ins, and other measurable and observable
factors, perform the majority of their working hours in a
locality pay area with a lower locality rate than the
locality rate for the locality pay area in which the official
worksite of the employee is located, but continue to receive
the higher locality rate associated with the official
worksite of the employee;
(2) the cost savings that would be achieved by adjusting
the locality rate for employees described in paragraph (1) to
be the locality rate for the locality pay area in which the
employees perform the majority of their working hours;
(3) the actions the agency or department has taken to audit
and adjust the locality rates for employees with a telework
agreement to account for the location from which the
employees perform the majority of their working hours;
(4) as of the date of enactment of this Act, the actions
the agency or department has taken to ensure oversight and
quality control of remote work;
(5) any additional steps the agency or department is
considering taking to improve oversight and quality control
of remote work;
(6) the typical daily onsite attendance in the office
buildings of the agency or department, as a proportion of the
total workforce of the agency or department;
(7) any guidance, initiatives, or other incentives in
effect to entice the employees of the agency or department to
return to working from the office buildings of the agency or
department;
(8) a description of the instances in which the agency or
department has exercised the authority under paragraph (2) of
section 531.605(d) of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations to
waive the twice-in-a-pay-period standard under paragraph (1)
of such section;
(9) the number of exceptions to the exercises of authority
described in paragraph (8) that have been revoked during each
month beginning on or after July 1, 2021;
(10) as of the date of enactment of this Act, the number of
employees for whom an exception described in paragraph (8)
remains in effect;
(11) a discussion of the monetary and environmental cost of
maintaining underutilized space for the agency or department,
in terms of energy use and carbon emissions;
(12) any steps the agency or department is taking or
planning to take on or before the date that is 30 days after
the date of enactment of this Act to reduce underutilization
of building and office space; and
(13) the impacts of telework on the delivery of services
and response times, including any increase or decrease in
backlogs relative to the backlog as of March 1, 2020.
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