[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 148 (Wednesday, September 13, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S4496]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  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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