EXCLUSIVE: GOP Sen Demands Meeting With Biden Admin To Prepare Crack Down On Telework Violations In New Trump Term
Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa demanded on Tuesday for the Biden administration official in charge of human capital at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to hold a meeting as she prepares to…
Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa demanded on Tuesday for the Biden administration official in charge of human capital at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to hold a meeting as she prepares to deliver a “blueprint” to President-elect Trump to crack down on telework fraud.
Ernst and Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware asked Acting Chief Human Capital Officer Sepideh Keyvanshad of USAID to schedule a staff briefing by Dec. 12 on measures to prevent timecard fraud in a letter exclusively provided to the Daily Caller News Foundation. Ernst previously questioned USAID over an employee who improperly received locality pay — which adjusts pay scales to account for the cost of living in certain areas — for the Washington, D.C. area despite living in Florida.
“Bubble bath bureaucrats beware – change is coming,” Ernst told the DCNF. “President Trump promised to clean out the deep state and hold bureaucrats accountable. That starts with cracking down on those stealing from taxpayers with locality pay lies. I will be delivering President Trump a blueprint for ending the abuse of telework and getting Washington back to working for the people.”
Ernst and Coons wrote Keyvanshad, asking for information following a second case of improper locality pay going to a federal employee at the agency.
“As you may know, the USAID Office of Inspector General (OIG) has issued multiple investigative findings denoting employees have been paid improper locality pay. Timecard fraud is a serious offense, yet it is unclear what steps USAID is taking to proactively root it out,” Ernst and Coons wrote in their letter to USAID.