Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, is introducing a proposal for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) that would reduce government employee telework and sell empty government office space. She has been working with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy since they were tapped by President-elect Trump to lead the new agency. Musk and Ramaswamy will visit Capitol Hill to discuss ways to reduce government waste with Republican lawmakers. Ernst’s proposal includes relocating Washington’s workforce across the country, legislation to relocate employees to field offices, and setting a goal for federal agencies to achieve a 60% daily occupancy at their headquarters, as currently not a single agency reaches even half capacity.
Ernst’s proposal also includes legislation to auction off vacant and underutilized government buildings, with an estimated $8 billion spent annually on maintaining and leasing government office buildings. She highlighted that many government buildings in D.C. have an occupancy rate of only 12%, leading to wasted costs. Ernst suggested that Congress pass the Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act (FASTA) Reform Act to identify unused properties for the government to sell and require the reduction and consolidation of unused space to ensure all buildings achieve a utilization rate of 60% or more.
Ernst is also proposing that performance determine whether a federal employee may work from home, as she found instances of employees abusing telework by claiming to work in areas with higher pay rates while living elsewhere. In some cases, employees were receiving incorrect locality pay rates, boosting their salaries. Ernst plans to introduce her proposal to Musk and Ramaswamy, who are focused on identifying waste and regulations that could be eliminated through the executive branch. With Republicans set to control the White House and both chambers of the legislature, Ernst’s proposal may gain traction in the coming months.
The proposal also includes legislation to relocate at least 30% of employees from D.C. headquarters to field offices in various communities across the country. Ernst is urging the White House and executive branch agencies to consider relocating some staff without a congressional directive. She is focused on increasing the daily occupancy at federal agencies’ headquarters to 60%, as currently, not a single agency meets that target. Ernst highlighted that the government owns thousands of vacant buildings and partially empty properties that are costing billions to maintain and operate.
Ernst’s proposal aims to make telework more transparent and accountable by passing various bills that would ensure federal employees are working from home based on performance. She is advocating for the sale of vacant government buildings and a reduction in leased office space, which she estimates to be worth $15 million. Ernst is set to roll out her proposal and a 60-page report during a Senate DOGE Caucus meeting that Musk and Ramaswamy are expected to attend. The effort to reduce government waste and increase efficiency through the Department of Government Efficiency is gaining momentum as Republicans gear up to take control of the executive and legislative branches.
