Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa and Republican Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania introduced legislation Tuesday to force government unions to reimburse the government for time and resources spent on union activities in federal offices.
Ernst and Perry submitted the “Protecting Taxpayers’ Wallets Act of 2025” to require that unions reimburse the federal government for resources and time by federal government employees used to promote the union’s activities. Ernst told the Daily Caller News Foundation that taxpayer funds shouldn’t be used to help unions secure “cushy benefits” during negotiations.
“Public money should be spent to benefit taxpayers, not bureaucrats,” Ernst said. “Every cent of Americans’ hard-earned money should be spent on them, not negotiating cushy benefits for federal employees. I am getting Washington back to work and ending the subsidies for federal unions.”
Federal employees spent 2.6 million hours, the equivalent of almost three centuries, on union activities, costing taxpayers at least $135 million, according to Ernst, who cited data from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Unions also used at least $24 million in office space and supplies paid for by taxpayers.
“Forcing the American Taxpayer to foot the bill for federal union organizing is outrageous and absurd,” Perry told the DCNF. “If federal employees and resources are going to be used for union tasks, the unions should foot the bill.”
The Protecting Taxpayers’ Wallets Act prohibits agency leaders from waiving the reimbursement requirements and also penalizes both union representatives who do not track their “union time” and unions that fail to reimburse agencies for resources and time used for union activities.
Ernst introduced the Taxpayer-Funded Union Time Transparency Act in 2024, after government employee unions resisted efforts to return to the office. Ernst’s investigations into the effects of telework led to a 60-page report Ernst released Dec. 5 that covered findings from her probes into the issues involved with telecommuting by federal employees.
Ernst also uncovered abuses relating to so-called “union time,” with one employee moving to Florida and working in real estate while on the arrangement, while another employee used “union time” while being jailed for drinking and driving.
Previous investigations by Ernst into telecommuting detailed issues involving locality pay, an adjustment to the basic pay of federal government employees intended to ensure that they receive comparable compensation to private-sector counterparts.
In the August 2023 letter sent to 24 government agencies requesting a review of the issues involved with telecommuting, Ernst cited a media account of a VA employee who attended a staff meeting while taking a bubble bath.
In another case cited by Ernst, a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) employee received locality pay for the Washington, D.C., area despite living full-time in Florida. The employee in question retired before the conclusion of the probe, according to a summary posted on the USAID inspector general’s site April 30.
Department of Government Efficiency Co-Chairman Elon Musk announced plans to close down USAID Feb. 3.
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