Letter to Hon. Joseph R. Biden, President of the United States - Rep. Cline Urges Federal Agencies Return to Timely Constituent Services

Letter

Dear President Biden:

We write to express concerns that federal agencies under your administration have not
maintained adequate levels of in-person work, despite having early access to the COVID-19
vaccine, reasonable accommodations for those who may not be able to receive a vaccine,
reconfigured office spaces to allow for social distancing, and the installation of various
technologies to distance staff from in-person customers.

Congress has appropriated trillions of dollars since the pandemic effectively began in March
2020. Now, almost two years later, the numerous reports of agencies that handle some of
our constituents' requests operating at subpar level is indeed troubling. Some of the most
profound examples, though certainly not all of them, include Personnel Records for our
Veterans, the Social Security Administration for those with disabilities or those required to
register prior to retirement, the Internal Revenue Service's processing of tax returns, the
United States Postal Service's on time delivery, and the Small Business Administration's
slow response to businesses attempting to access COVID-related programs. Make no
mistake, these are just a few of the agencies we deal with on a day-to-day basis.

Therefore, we ask that you respond to this letter with the following information:

1) How many agencies are fully staffed and in-person? Please list these agencies.

2) Which agencies are partially staffed and in-person? Please list these agencies.

3) Of agencies partially staffed, how many have greater than 50% teleworking?

4) What is the total number of federal employees working remotely?

5) Do these agencies have plans in place to return to in-person work?
a. If not, what is impeding their return?

Your attention to our request is appreciated. We ask that you reply to this letter by February
28, 2022.

Sincerely,