Telework Improvements Act of 2010

Floor Speech

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Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I want to thank Mr. Lynch and certainly my colleague from Maryland, Congressman Sarbanes, for his leadership and for his efforts on this bill. I also want to thank those members of the subcommittee and Mr. Issa for facilitating this bill coming to the floor.

I have been working on this issue along with Frank Wolf for a very long time, indeed over two decades. Congressman Wolf and I, Congressman Wolf from Virginia, a Republican, and myself served on the Treasury and Postal Committee, which is now called the Financial Services Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee. That committee many, many years ago, and interesting enough John Berry, who is now the director of the Office of Personnel Management, was on my staff at that point in time. And we worked on this issue of telework, which makes so much sense for so many reasons. It saves gas. That's an important issue. It helps the environment in doing so. Reduces road congestion, lowers commuting costs for all drivers, helps employees balance work and family, and saves employers money.

Now, let me speak about the family aspect of this. Think to yourself the average commuter certainly in the Washington metropolitan area spends some 35 minutes on the road. If you are in my district, you spend 45 minutes to an hour on the road. Mr. Connolly is shaking his head. Many of his constituents do the same. The gentleman from Virginia is in the same aspect. Think of that time that is not necessarily very productive, but could be family time. And a less stressed-out worker could be performing their services, when now we deal with so much work being done from a technology aspect where you don't need to be at a given site. That is what this legislation seeks to enhance.

And again, I congratulate Mr. Sarbanes from my State for his leadership and for the bipartisan leadership. It would bring flexibility to 21st-century Federal workers by creating guidelines for increased teleworking, or telecommuting as some call it.

With today's technology, many employees perform at least some of their work, and indeed some all of their work, functions at their homes or at an alternate worksite closer to their homes, eliminating or reducing the need to commute. That's what the gentleman from Virginia was talking about in terms of a secure site, which could be--we had one in Prince Frederick. We have one at the community college in Waldorf, Maryland. I don't know whether they are secure sites. I think they are not. But a secure site for a group of employees who need such a secure site closer to their home effects all of the same kinds of efficiencies that I have talked about.

That's why this bill is such an important encouragement to the Federal Government, one of the world's largest employers, to effect this efficiency. It is also I think a lesson that we have learned from the private sector, many of whom telecommute or telework. Many insurance agencies, when you call your insurance agent for information, you have no idea where they are sitting, and don't care. All you want to know is that they respond to the question you have and can access the information you need, which of course they can do on their computer. So this is a very effective, efficient, family friendly, environmentally friendly action for us to take.

I commend Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Lynch and the committee for their leadership on this, and I commend Mr. Issa as well for his leadership.

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