[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 90 (Wednesday, May 24, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H4528-H4533]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




REQUIRING AN ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS RELATING TO THE USE OF OFFICIAL 
                       TIME BY FEDERAL EMPLOYEES

  Mr. ROSS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 1293) to amend title 5, United States Code, to require that the 
Office of Personnel Management submit an annual report to Congress 
relating to the use of official time by Federal employees, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1293

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. REPORTING REQUIREMENT.

       (a) In General.--Section 7131 of title 5, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(e)(1)(A) Not later than March 31 of each calendar year, 
     the Office of Personnel Management, in consultation with the 
     Office of Management and Budget, shall submit to each House 
     of Congress a report on the operation of this section during 
     the fiscal year last ending before the start of such calendar 
     year.
       ``(B) Not later than December 31 of each calendar year, 
     each agency (as defined by section 7103(a)(3)) shall furnish 
     to the Office of Personnel Management the information which 
     such Office requires, with respect to such agency, for 
     purposes of the report which is next due under subparagraph 
     (A).
       ``(2) Each report by the Office of Personnel Management 
     under this subsection shall include, with respect to the 
     fiscal year described in paragraph (1)(A), at least the 
     following information:
       ``(A) The total amount of official time granted to 
     employees.
       ``(B) The average amount of official time expended per 
     bargaining unit employee.
       ``(C) The specific types of activities or purposes for 
     which official time was granted, and the impact which the 
     granting of such official time for such activities or 
     purposes had on agency operations.
       ``(D) The total number of employees to whom official time 
     was granted, and, of that total, the number who were not 
     engaged in any activities or purposes except activities or 
     purposes involving the use of official time.
       ``(E) The total amount of compensation (including fringe 
     benefits) afforded to employees in connection with activities 
     or purposes for which they were granted official time.
       ``(F) The total amount of official time spent by employees 
     representing Federal employees who are not union members in 
     matters authorized by this chapter.
       ``(G) A description of any room or space designated at the 
     agency (or its subcomponent) where official time activities 
     will be conducted, including the square footage of any such 
     room or space.
       ``(3) All information included in a report by the Office of 
     Personnel Management under this subsection with respect to a 
     fiscal year--
       ``(A) shall be shown both agency-by-agency and for all 
     agencies; and
       ``(B) shall be accompanied by the corresponding information 
     (submitted by the Office in its report under this subsection) 
     for the fiscal year before the fiscal year to which such 
     report pertains, together with appropriate comparisons and 
     analyses.
       ``(4) For purposes of this subsection, the term `official 
     time' means any period of time, regardless of agency 
     nomenclature--
       ``(A) which may be granted to an employee under this 
     chapter (including a collective bargaining agreement entered 
     into under this chapter) to perform representational or 
     consultative functions; and

[[Page H4529]]

       ``(B) during which the employee would otherwise be in a 
     duty status.''.
       (b) Applicability.--The amendment made by subsection (a) 
     shall be effective beginning with the report which, under the 
     provisions of such amendment, is first required to be 
     submitted by the Office of Personnel Management to each House 
     of Congress by a date which occurs at least 6 months after 
     the date of the enactment of this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Ross) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida.


                             General Leave

  Mr. ROSS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ROSS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 1293, to amend 
title 5 of the United States Code to require the Office of Personnel 
Management to submit an annual report to Congress relating to the use 
of official time by Federal employees.
  Mr. Speaker, I am here today to talk about a bill that would provide 
taxpayers with greater transparency of official time. ``Official time'' 
is that term that describes when Federal employees do union work on the 
taxpayers' dime.
  The only standard provided by the statute authorizing official time 
is that the employees perform union work on official time in a manner 
that is ``reasonable, necessary, and in the public interest.'' 
Currently, Federal law does not require agencies to report, annually, 
on the amount of official time their employees perform.
  Until March of this year, the Office of Personnel Management had not 
reported on official time since fiscal year 2012. When the report was 
released in March, the data was out of date, containing information 
from fiscal year 2014.
  While the Office of Personnel Management may request that agencies 
provide data related to official time, OPM does not have any set of 
standards or procedures prescribing the collection of official time 
data. Considering the burden that official time puts on the taxpayer, 
more stringent reporting is necessary.
  The latest data provided by OPM shows that taxpayers paid $162 
million for salary and benefits related to work done in official time 
in fiscal year 2014, up from $157 million 2 years earlier in fiscal 
year 2012.
  Agencies reported that bargaining unit employees spent a total of 3.5 
million hours performing representational activities on official time.
  The current lack of stringent reporting requirements, as well as the 
broad interpretation of the statute's sole requirement that official 
time be carried out in a way that is reasonable, necessary, and in the 
public interest, have clearly opened the door to abuse.
  The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform identified several 
cases where employees on official time engaged in all sorts of 
inappropriate activities while on taxpayer-funded time, including 
everything from leisure to criminal activities. With greater 
transparency, employees will be less likely to abuse the system, which 
will result in less waste of taxpayer dollars.
  It is by far time we require agencies to provide this information to 
Congress and to the public. Taxpayers deserve clear, reliable data on 
how many employees are performing union work on official time in lieu 
of their regularly assigned government duties.
  To accomplish this, H.R. 1293 requires agencies to provide more 
detailed information to OPM regarding what their employees are doing 
related to official time. Specifically, the bill requires agencies to 
report the total amount of official time granted to employees, the 
average amount of time each employee spends on official time, the 
specific types of activities for which official time was granted, and 
the impact official time had on agency operations.
  H.R. 1293 requires agencies to report the amount of compensation 
employees received in connection with the time they spent on activities 
in connection with official time.
  Finally, the bill requires agencies to report a description of rooms 
and spaces agencies use to conduct official time.
  H.R. 1293 will provide taxpayers with the transparency they deserve 
when it comes to official time.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I must say, Mr. Speaker, I originally rose in support of what I 
thought was a simple reporting bill. In listening to my friend from 
Florida, this is part and parcel of the negative narrative that is sent 
in all too frequently on the other side of the aisle about hardworking 
civil servants and Federal employees. They are not all somehow 
committing crime on official time. Official time, in fact, has been 
used to the benefit of the workforce and to the benefit of management.
  If this bill, H.R. 1293, is nothing but a precursor to further 
encroachment on the rights of Federal workers, then I will oppose this 
bill, and I will urge my Members on this side of the aisle to oppose 
this bill because, by voting for it, we are enabling something much 
worse to follow and have this thrown in our faces.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I regret that, under the circumstances, and with the 
message I have just heard, I can no longer support this bill. I can no 
longer urge my colleagues to support this bill, and we will, in fact, 
urge a negative vote on this bill.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROSS. Mr. Speaker, I might just suggest to my good friend from 
Virginia that this is a reporting bill, that this is the same bill, as 
amended by their amendment, that was passed out of committee 
overwhelmingly, that I believe the gentleman from Virginia voted for. 
So there has not been any change. It is still a transparency reporting 
bill to make sure that we account for all the time spent in official 
time on the taxpayer dime. That is it.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Jody B. Hice).
  Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from 
Florida for yielding this time.
  I agree with this great reporting bill. The American people have a 
right to at least have a reasonable expectation that the Federal 
Government knows what its employees are doing. Unfortunately, we all 
know that doesn't always happen, particularly when it comes to the 
practice of official time. It is amazing to me how little information 
there is, particularly as it relates to the reporting aspect, as to 
what is happening under official time.
  For those who don't know what it is, Mr. Ross mentioned it well. 
Established under the Carter administration, official time allows 
Federal employee union members to conduct union activities during their 
work-hours of the agency for which they were hired even if the union 
activity has nothing to do with their job description. Surprisingly, 
the Federal agencies are not required to report to Congress the amount 
of time that employees are spending conducting union business.
  Some of my colleagues may disagree about the value of official time. 
I get that. The gentleman from Virginia and I see differently on this. 
I certainly oppose the abuse of official time, so we see differently on 
this.
  But I think we can all agree that the American people at least have 
the right to know the extent to which official time is being used. So, 
although we may disagree somewhat on policy, I think we can certainly 
find common ground to promote accountability and transparency within 
the Federal Government.
  As Mr. Ross mentioned a while ago, the OPM has come out with a study: 
3.5 million work-hours spent on official time. That is a lot if it was 
just dollars, but when you take 3.5 million work-hours multiplied by 
dollars involved, this is a significant issue that needs to be 
addressed.
  This bill, H.R. 1293, grants the OPM the ability to get necessary 
information from Federal agencies so that we have a more comprehensive 
understanding of the official time usage. Currently, there are no 
standards for OPM to find that kind of information.

[[Page H4530]]

  So this bill does not eliminate, nor does it restrict, official time 
usage; it simply shines light on the practice. Again, I believe we can 
find common ground that the American people deserve to know how their 
tax dollars are spent.
  This is common sense. It is good governance. It is a bill that I 
believe we should all be able to get behind. I am pleased to support 
this bill. I am honored and pleased to do so in the House Oversight and 
Government Reform Committee. I urge all our colleagues to support it 
now.
  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, my friend from Florida is my friend and he 
knows I respect him, but when you give an opening statement on a bill 
that goes far beyond a reporting requirement that we thought we were 
supporting and you use the occasion to disparage Federal workers and to 
characterize them in a decidedly negative way as if that somehow really 
described the average civil servant and what they are up to, then on 
this side of the aisle, we take exception. Then it is no longer a 
simple reporting bill; it is a precursor of bad things to come, and we 
are not going to be party to it. We are not going to enable that. That 
is why, reluctantly, I must now oppose this bill and urge my Democratic 
colleagues and those on the other side of the aisle who want to protect 
Federal employees and honor them and give them the dignity and respect 
they deserve also to oppose this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I now am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman 
from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton), my dear friend.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend from Virginia for 
yielding to me.
  You haven't heard any discussion of abuse of official time because 
there is no record of abuse of official time. My colleagues on the 
other side simply want to get rid of official time, as they have wanted 
to do for decades.
  A little background: Federal employees have no right to strike, as 
they do in the private sector. In return, though, the time-honored 
right to organize and represent employees in their official capacity on 
matters relating to the workplace has always been in place under 
Republicans and Democrats alike.
  Remember, there is also no requirement to join a union in the first 
place; yet unions must represent all workers, regardless of their 
membership or not.
  The bill on the House floor, H.R. 1293, is unnecessary. Official time 
reports are already required. This is a redundant bill.
  If my friend is worried that these reports haven't been timely, as he 
implied then he can do that administratively or do it in this bill. The 
reason he doesn't do it in this bill is this bill is a cover. It is a 
cover for two pending bills which are already out of committee. I 
expect them on the floor any minute now, although, notice the sequence.

                              {time}  1415

  Mr. Speaker, this seemingly vanilla bill, is going to be followed by 
the real bills that my colleagues are after. They are parallel bills. 
They essentially eliminate official time to represent workers.
  Now, why is official time important? They are important for the 
operation of the Federal Government itself. And why is that? Because 
there are always going to be disputes and contention between management 
and labor. Official takes away time that would otherwise be wasted and 
allows the parties to go to the table and work matters out.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the 
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, these two bills are a frontal attack on 
official time, but they actually stab federal employees in the back. 
One bill would make it virtually impossible for union members to 
volunteer their time unless they wanted to give up parts of their 
retirement benefits.
  What kind of quid pro quo is that? What do you want to do next? 
Reduce pay if a union rep uses official time?
  The next bill designates employees who cannot represent other 
employees. This bill looks like something you would expect from 
countries where there is no right to organize.
  This bill reduces the amount of dues unions can collect, even though 
they are collecting dues on their own time and not official time. This 
is a brazen attempt to eliminate the fair-share fee, non-union workers 
pay for being represented equally with union members, and allow free 
riders to be served free of charge. This is the beginning of an out-
and-out assault on the freedom of workers to organize.
  Mr. ROSS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I 
want to be clear here, because I want to make sure that we are talking 
about the same bill.
  This bill doesn't do anything about union dues. This bill doesn't do 
anything other than require the transparency of reporting official 
time. And I would be delighted to engage my good friend from Virginia, 
whom I have a great deal of respect for, and I have worked very 
diligently on this committee with for some time, and inquire as to what 
transpired since this bill left committee until today that would cause 
him and others who were supportive of it in committee to now say that 
it is not?
  I don't mean to misrepresent anything. While I might have opinions of 
what I believe, I can tell you factually that this bill is merely, and 
solely, and exclusively a reporting bill. If I were managing a company 
and I wanted to know where my resources were, I would want to make sure 
I managed those resources--including my human resources--so I would 
like to know where the time of my employees is spent.
  There is no prohibition of time being spent. There is no restriction 
of time being spent. It is merely a reporting bill. It is requiring 
reporting. It is something the OPM has done before. It was started 
under President Carter's administration.
  Mr. Speaker, I inquire of my good friend if there is anything that 
has changed to make his opposition now come to the floor?
  Mr. CONNOLLY. Will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. ROSS. I yield to the gentleman from Virginia.
  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend because I am going to 
run out of time. I must say to my friend, my prepared remarks were 
designed to support this bill.
  Mr. ROSS. And I appreciate that.
  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I must say, the gentleman from Florida, 
who is an honorable man and a friend, and we have collaborated, but his 
own words transformed what this really was. They persuaded us that by 
voting for this, we are not voting for a reporting bill. That is just 
the beginning.
  My friend from Florida is the one who characterized criminal activity 
on official time, and unsavory things going on on official time, and 
allows that to dangle out there as if that characterizes Federal 
employees generally.
  I say to any friend--and I thank him for yielding--that has 
transformed our perception of this bill. This is no longer a simple 
reporting bill--although technically that is what it is. It is a 
precursor, apparently, to an assault of Federal employees--and on 
official time, specifically--and we cannot be partners to that. We 
cannot be enablers to that.
  Mr. Speaker, therefore, we must oppose this bill, in light of the 
context my friend from Florida himself said.
  Mr. ROSS. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, while I understand where 
my colleague from Virginia is taking my comments from, I must submit 
that at no time did I allege that the Federal employees, all Federal 
employees, are committing crimes on official time.
  I think just the opposite. A vast majority of our Federal employees 
are probably some of the best workforce that we have out there. I think 
that, in any workforce, you are going to have some people that don't 
live up to the standards of their employment. So what I merely do in my 
opening statement is to say that there has been a need for transparency 
that includes the abuse of time by some, not by all.
  Again, the vast majority of Federal employees are exceptional 
employees, hardworking, and absolutely necessary to run this great 
country.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my good friend from Virginia to please reconsider, 
and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I am certainly gratified for the 
clarification of my friend.
  It now gives me great pleasure to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman 
from

[[Page H4531]]

Massachusetts (Mr. Lynch), my good friend and a senior member of the 
Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
  Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Virginia for 
yielding, and I join him in opposition to this bill.
  While originally my remarks would have been much kinder to the bill, 
and I may have considered supporting it, I did not consider it 
favorably in committee. I know we had a voice vote on that. But in 
light of the unfortunate remarks that imply that there was illegal 
activity going on by Federal employees, and that is why we need this 
bill that is before us right now, I do have to agree with the ranking 
member, the gentleman from Virginia, that this bill is, indeed, a part 
of the vanguard of legislation to severely restrict and eliminate the 
use of official time.
  Under the bipartisan Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, a Federal 
employees who serves as a union steward or union representative may be 
granted official time to perform activities that--and this is the 
important standard that is in the bill--the gentleman from Georgia 
indicated that we need this bill because there is no standard.
  The standard in the Civil Service Reform Act requires a number of 
things: It requires both labor and management to agree on the use of 
official time, and that official time be ``reasonable, necessary, and 
in the public interest.''
  That is the standard today, and every single Federal workplace--
management and labor--have to agree that the use of official time is 
reasonable, that it is necessary, and that it is in the public 
interest. That is a great standard, and that is what has been going on 
so far.
  While there are those who seek to curb or repeal the statutory right 
and may claim that it amounts to misuse of government resources, let me 
offer you another concrete example of why official time is critical to 
the Federal workplace and serves the interests of the American people 
and taxpayer.
  In the wake of the devastating terrorist attacks on September 11, 
2001, the Nation also endured a series of anthrax attacks perpetuated 
through the United States mail system against media offices in Florida, 
New York, and also Federal offices here in the Nation's Capital. The 
affected facilities included the Brentwood Mail Processing and 
Distribution Center here in D.C., that is now named after two dedicated 
postal employees, Thomas Morris and Joseph Curseen, who lost their 
lives to anthrax exposure at that facility.

  This is immediately after September 11. They were postal workers. 
They died of inhalation of anthrax poisoning because of the jobs they 
were doing on behalf of this country. The risk of further anthrax 
attacks threatened the safety of our postal workforce. I had two 
sisters with young children at the time working at the post office, and 
I knew of this well.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to my 
friend from Massachusetts.
  Mr. LYNCH. It jeopardized the safety of our postal workforce and 
customers, as well as the free flow of information and commerce that 
the constitutional responsibility of the United States Postal Service 
requires.
  But rather than refusing to go to work in a dangerous workplace, by 
the use of official time, the management of the United States Postal 
Service, and the union representatives of the United States Postal 
Service sat down and worked out a measure where the union agreed to 
send their workers in, the mail kept running to every home and business 
in America, but the postal workers absorbed that danger on their own 
because they knew that steps were being taken to keep them and their 
families--because the threat was that anthrax would get on their 
clothes and they would bring that back to their own homes. We worked 
that out.
  That agreement would not have been worked out but for the use of 
official time--and a lot of official time that was used in that crisis. 
That is the responsibility that those union representatives had to the 
workers. They have to guarantee a safe workplace for those workers, and 
that is why we should vote against this bill. This is a wolf in sheep's 
clothing, and we ought to vote this down.
  Mr. ROSS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. If 
I might just, again, clarify for the record, this is a reporting bill. 
It is a transparency bill. The standard that my good friend from 
Massachusetts discusses, and that I agreed with, is not affected at all 
by this bill.
  I would have no doubt whatsoever that in similar circumstances that 
happened after 9/11 in those post offices, that those same employees, 
regardless of the risk, would do exactly what they did, because that is 
how valuable they are to the system. That is how valuable they are to 
this country.
  What I can't understand is what has transpired between voting this 
out of committee to today that has changed the opinion.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Michigan (Mrs. Lawrence), my dear friend.
  Mrs. LAWRENCE. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Connolly.
  I rise today coming in saying I would support this bill. Many people 
know I served 30 years as a Federal employee working in HR, 
understanding labor relations, safety issues, environmental issues, 
diversity issues, and knowing clear well that the official time that is 
allotted to employees to sit down with their representative of the 
union to talk about if they feel like they are being sexually harassed, 
if they feel like they are in an environment that is not safe for them, 
official time is extremely necessary.
  What happens in official time? It allows a lot of grievances to be 
processed and resolved through communication between union and 
management.
  There have been several legislative reform proposals introduced to 
address the way union representatives are allowed to utilize official 
time.
  Now, I was taken back when my colleague said ``criminal activities.'' 
Mr. Speaker, criminal activity is something that is in a whole 
different venue. If you are a Federal employee and you create an 
illegal activity, you do not need official time to do that. I have 
never known, in the time that I served in HR, in labor relations, and 
served in all of the different capacities, have I seen someone doing 
criminal activity on official time.
  It would be a different thing if we were clear that this bill was 
about reporting the time, which I would not oppose. But when you 
present this scenario about official time, as it being something that 
is negative, something that is being used in a criminal capacity, that 
is totally something I would be opposed to.

  Let me tell you some examples of what representatives can use it for: 
If there is a whistleblower accusation, an employee would go to their 
union steward and ask for official time.
  If it was a grievance on behalf of the employee, they can use it.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the 
gentlewoman from Michigan.
  Mrs. LAWRENCE. Mr. Speaker, union representatives can also assist if 
it is an OSHA issue, if it is racial discrimination, or sexual 
harassment.
  Instead of allowing employees to complete nonpolitical activities, 
some of my colleagues seem more interested in preventing employees from 
doing their jobs by using official time.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleague to defeat senseless attacks against 
Federal employees' official time.
  Mr. ROSS. Mr. Speaker, might I inquire how much time is remaining?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Florida has 9\1/2\ 
minutes remaining. The gentleman from Virginia has 8\1/2\ minutes 
remaining.
  Mr. ROSS. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
New Jersey (Mrs. Watson Coleman), my friend.
  Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for the 
opportunity to discuss this bill, and I want to thank the colleague 
from across the aisle here who has illuminated the future as it relates 
to undertaking this whole issue.
  It is with that in mind that I want to speak to the value of the use 
of official time.

[[Page H4532]]

  


                              {time}  1430

  While I am not concerned so much about the collection of the 
information as to what is happening, I am concerned with how it is 
being translated and will be used in the future.
  For decades, both Republicans and Democrats alike have strongly 
supported the use of official time because it streamlines the 
efficiency and quality of government. We should be thanking our union 
representatives who use official time to address workplace problems and 
operational issues within our government.
  Within our Federal Government, official time leads to swift conflict 
resolutions that would otherwise require costly litigation, improves 
the relationship between labor and management, and protects 
whistleblowers who have exposed government waste and abuse. In some 
cases, it has even saved lives, as in the issue of AFGE local president 
Kathleen Dahl, when there was a breakout of Legionnaires' disease.
  Furthermore, official time costs one-tenth of 1 percent of the cost 
of salaries and benefits for all Federal employees. That is a fraction 
of employee compensation. Ultimately, it saves taxpayers dollars and 
ensures transparency.
  So while we may be discussing today simply a bill that will record 
the time that is spent in such a noble and important function, it is 
simply a precursor to the disparaging of union workers and Federal 
workers as we move forward. Mr. Speaker, I oppose any movement in that 
direction.
  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Maryland (Mr. Sarbanes).
  Mr. SARBANES. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I came to the floor today expecting to support H.R. 
1293, which has to do with the reporting of official time, but based on 
the negative commentary we are getting generally about official time 
and the knock against Federal employees we have heard here today, I am 
anxious now about supporting this bill because it appears that what is 
happening is our colleagues on the other side are setting the table for 
bringing other legislation eventually to the floor that is actually 
going to attack and undermine official time.
  My colleague earlier referred to a wolf in sheep's clothing 
represented by this bill. You can look at it as the camel's nose under 
the tent. Whatever it is, I am worried now that the agenda here is to 
undermine official time.
  Let's remind ourselves of the various benefits of official time. It 
helps to resolve workplace disputes, which is really important. It 
helps to improve efficiency within the workplace. It is what leads to 
negotiating positive agreements between labor and management. It is how 
official time, when it is used wisely--and there is no evidence that it 
is not used wisely; there is no evidence of abuse or misuse of official 
time--and when it is used the way it has been used, it helps our 
Federal agencies help the American people. It helps these agencies 
function well.
  I hope that we can reject whatever is coming down the pipeline. I was 
cautiously optimistic when I came to support this bill that these other 
efforts that seem to be underway were maybe being put to bed, but now I 
am concerned that there is an agenda coming. So we will just have to 
see how it goes.
  I want to reiterate my strong support for the use of official time 
the way it is used by our Federal employees, which is in a very 
positive fashion, and I urge my colleagues on the other side to protect 
official time and all of its benefits.
  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I agree with my friend from Maryland. 
Official time is a very useful tool in the Federal workplace, both for 
management and for labor, and has proved its worth over the years.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Takano).
  Mr. TAKANO. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I had intended to support H.R. 1293, but after hearing 
the remarks from the chairman on the floor this morning, I am afraid 
that this bill is just a precursor for what the majority will try to do 
to our dedicated Federal employees.
  The sentiments expressed by the chairman are in line with the 
legislation that appeared before the Veterans' Affairs Committee just 
this past week, legislation that would have undermined the use of 
official time for employees at the VA. So there are attacks happening 
in other parts of the House.
  The committee marked up H.R. 1461, the misnamed VET Protection Act. 
This bill would limit the amount of time VA employees can use for 
official time to improve working conditions for themselves and for 
their colleagues and, in turn, improve services for veterans.
  We considered this bill, despite the fact we didn't have clear data 
on the impact of the bill on the VA's HR capability. I realize this 
bill we are considering on the floor today is about that data, but the 
spirit in which it is being moved forward is not about trying to 
illuminate how official time has helped our veterans.
  There are 49,386 vacant positions at the VA. Rolling back the use of 
official time will only increase the demands on the VA's human 
resources staff, making it harder to fill positions and recruit and 
retain quality providers.
  Official time benefits our veterans. In Pittsburgh, as was mentioned 
before by my colleague from New Jersey, an AFGE president used official 
time to press the VA to address a Legionnaires' disease outbreak that 
killed 6 veterans and made 16 others sick. Her actions helped save 
veterans' lives, and she used official time to do it.
  At the Phoenix VA there was a 29 percent turnover rate for licensed 
practical nurses. Union representatives used official time to improve 
working conditions and cut the turnover rate in half. Less turnover 
means better care for veterans.
  I warn my colleagues against this bill and future misguided 
legislation to undermine official time and the function of our Federal 
agencies.
  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

  In attempting to summarize, Mr. Speaker, I do want to reiterate that 
my friend from Florida is an honorable man. When he says this is about 
one thing, I believe him. Perhaps in the introduction to this bill 
there was a characterization that was not intended, and I accept that 
explanation.
  Federal workers are hardworking civil servants. They serve the 
American people. I know my friend from Florida agrees. The overwhelming 
majority of them are dedicated. They seize a mission every day, whether 
it be at the VA, the Social Security Administration, or our Nation's 
parks. They are dedicated to the proposition that they are there to 
serve the American people. It is important to honor their service, to 
respect their service, to not allow even the inference to be drawn that 
a negative example somehow could be construed as characteristic of the 
whole, for that is false.
  That is the narrative we Democrats and, hopefully, a number of 
Republicans want to change, because it is not true. We want to honor 
those civil servants.
  All too often, our civil servants have become pin cushions. Again, I 
know my friend from Florida does not intend that, but there are others 
who have intended that. That sparks something, certainly, on this side 
of the aisle and with this Member, who represents a lot of Federal 
employees and cherishes their service. For us, it is a very personal 
matter.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROSS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  I appreciate the comments from my friend from Virginia, and I will 
reiterate my comments made earlier here on this floor that we are very 
grateful for the Federal workforce that we do have and that they are, 
by far, one of the best human resources in employment in the world. We 
are grateful for their service.
  As in any case, there might be some bad ones, but, more importantly, 
all this bill requests is that we just report the transparency of their 
services and official time. It is neither an indictment nor restriction 
on Federal time whatsoever, and, in fact, can be used as a tool for 
Federal employees to justify some of the official time they are doing 
for the benefit of not only their colleagues, but also this great 
country.
  Mr. Speaker, I would again request that Members of this House support 
my bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

[[Page H4533]]

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Ross) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 1293, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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