Guest and Republicans: Federal Workers Must Return to Office to Address IRS and Other Casework Backlog
Washington, D.C. – Congressman Michael Guest (MS-03) joined Congressman Ben Cline (R-VA) and a group of Republican House Members in a letter to President Biden concerning the cause of delays in federal agency operations during the pandemic. The Members blame the delays on continued telework operations in the Biden Administration, despite available vaccinations, accommodations for those who do not receive the vaccine, and social distancing possibilities within federal offices.
“With effective vaccines and strategies to combat COVID-19, telework should be viewed as an alternative to in-office work as long as it does not interfere with the services the American people need and deserve. However, the backlog of requests left unfilled by federal agencies is very troubling. If continued telework operations are resulting in this delay, then federal employees need to return to the office so that they can address the backlog of services that the American people fund through their own taxes,” Guest said.
“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,” the Members write in their letter.
Click here to read the letter.
Congressman Michael Guest represents Mississippi's Third Congressional District. Currently serving his second term, Congressman Guest serves as the Vice Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, as a Member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and as a Member of the Committee on Ethics.
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