Grassley, Blackburn Introduce SHOW UP Act to Get Federal Employees Back in the Office, Prevent Future Lax Telework Policies

WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) joined Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) in introducing the Stopping Home Office Work’s Unproductive Problems (SHOW UP) Act to return federal employees to in-person work.

The legislation would require government agencies to reinstate their pre-COVID-19 telework policies and direct agency heads to submit to Congress a report on the adverse impacts of agencies’ expansion of telework policies during the COVID-19 pandemic. It would also prevent federal agencies from permanently expanding telework without submitting to Congress details on how its proposed remote work policies would bolster agency mission performance. 

“Iowans show up for work every day, and federal agency staff need to be doing the same. The pandemic has passed, and now it’s high time to dismantle unacceptable post-COVID-19 telework policies that have led to insufficient service for the American people. We need to get the rest of the government back in the office and back to work now,” Grassley said.  

Additional cosponsors are Sens. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.).

Read the bill text HERE.

Download video of Grassley discussing the legislation HERE.

Background:  

In 2022, Grassley joined Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) to introduce the Return Employees To Understaffed Worksites to Reopen Now (RETURN) Act. The bill directs federal agencies to submit a comprehensive plan to resume in-person operations and address constituents’ concerns about federal government services.

In a letter to heads of the office of Personnel Management (OPM), the General Services Administration (GSA), and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the senators demanded answers regarding plans to bring federal workers back to the office.

At a Senate Finance Committee hearing last May, Grassley pressed Social Security Administration (SSA) Commissioner Martin O'Malley on how SSA’s persistent telework policies were impacting the agency’s ability to provide services for seniors.