119-s354

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 354 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 354

 To require Executive agencies to submit to Congress a study of the 
impacts of expanded telework and remote work by agency employees during 
 the COVID-19 pandemic and a plan for the agency's future use of 
 telework and remote work, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 February 3, 2025

 Mrs. Blackburn (for herself, Mr. Crapo, Ms. Ernst, Mr. Cassidy, Mr. 
Tillis, Mr. Ricketts, and Mr. Grassley) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 
 and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To require Executive agencies to submit to Congress a study of the 
impacts of expanded telework and remote work by agency employees during 
 the COVID-19 pandemic and a plan for the agency's future use of 
 telework and remote work, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Stopping Home Office Work's 
Unproductive Problems Act of 2025'' or the ``SHOW UP Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

 In this Act:

    (1) Agency.--The term ``agency'' has the meaning given the 
 term ``Executive agency'' in 

section 105 of title 5, United 
 States Code.

    (2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
 the Office of Personnel Management.

    (3) Locality pay.--The term ``locality pay'' means locality 
 pay provided for under 

section 5304 or 5304a of title 5, United 
 States Code.

    (4) Telework; teleworking.--The terms ``telework'' and 
 ``teleworking''--
        (A) have the meaning given those terms in 

section 6501 of title 5, United States Code; and
        (B) include remote work.

SEC. 3. REINSTATEMENT OF PRE-PANDEMIC TELEWORK POLICIES, PRACTICES, AND 
 LEVELS FOR EXECUTIVE AGENCIES.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the head of each agency shall reinstate and apply the 
telework policies, practices, and levels of the agency that were in 
effect on December 31, 2019.

    (b) Prohibition.--The head of an agency may not expand any policy, 
practice, or level described in subsection

    (a) until the date on which 
the head of the agency submits to Congress--

    (1) an agency plan under 

section 4

    (a)

    (2) ; and

    (2) a certification under 

section 4

    (a)

    (3) .

SEC. 4. STUDY, PLAN, AND CERTIFICATION REGARDING EXECUTIVE AGENCY 
 TELEWORK POLICIES, PRACTICES, AND LEVELS FOR EXECUTIVE 
 AGENCIES.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the head of each agency, in consultation with 
the Director, shall submit to Congress--

    (1) a study on the impacts on the agency and the mission of 
 the agency of expanding telework for employees as a result of 
 the public health emergency relating to the Coronavirus Disease 
 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic declared under 

section 319 of the 
 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) on January 31, 2020, 
 including an analysis of--
        (A) any adverse impacts of that expansion on the 
 performance by the agency of the mission of the agency, 
 including the performance of customer service by the 
 agency;
        (B) any costs to the agency during that expansion 
 attributable to--
            (i) owning, leasing, or maintaining 
 underutilized real property; or
            (ii) paying higher rates of locality pay to 
 teleworking employees as a result of 
 incorrectly classifying those employees as 
 teleworkers rather than remote workers;
            (C) any degree to which the agency failed during 
 that expansion to provide teleworking employees with 
 secure network capacity, communications tools, 
 necessary and secure access to appropriate agency data 
 assets and Federal records, and equipment sufficient to 
 enable teleworking employee to be fully productive;
            (D) any degree to which that expansion facilitated 
 dispersal of the agency workforce around the United 
 States; and
        (E) any other impacts of that expansion that the 
 head of the agency or the Director considers 
 appropriate;

    (2) any agency plan to expand telework policies, practices, 
 or levels beyond the telework policies, practices, and levels 
 of the agency that were in effect on December 31, 2019; and

    (3) a certification by the Director that the agency plan 
 described in paragraph

    (2) will--
        (A) have a substantial positive effect on--
            (i) the performance of the mission of the 
 agency, including the performance of customer 
 service;
            (ii) increasing the level of dispersal of 
 agency personnel throughout the United States; 
 and
            (iii) the reversal of any adverse impacts 
 described in paragraph

    (1)
        (A) ;
        (B) substantially lower the costs of the agency 
 relating to owning, leasing, or maintaining real 
 property;
            (C) substantially lower the costs of the agency 
 attributable to paying locality pay to agency personnel 
 working from locations outside the pay locality of 
 their position's official worksite; and
            (D) ensure that teleworking employees will be 
 provided with secure network capacity, communications 
 tools, necessary and secure access to appropriate 
 agency data assets and Federal records, and equipment 
 sufficient to enable each teleworking employee to be 
 fully productive, without substantially increasing the 
 agency's overall costs for secure network capacity, 
 communications tools, and equipment.

    (b) Limitation.--

    (1) In general.--The head of an agency may not implement an 
 agency plan described in subsection

    (a)

    (2) for which the 
 Director does not issue a certification described in subsection

    (a)

    (3) .

    (2) Subsequent plans.--If the head of an agency 
 unsuccessfully submits an agency plan described in subsection

    (a)

    (2) to the Director for the certification described in 
 subsection

    (a)

    (3) , the head of the agency may--
        (A) submit to the Director subsequent agency plans 
 until the head of the agency receives the 
 certification; and
        (B) submit a subsequent agency plan described in 
 subparagraph
        (A) that is certified by the Director to 
 Congress.
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