Sen. Ernst Introduces Bill to Relocate Executive Agency Employees
FCC does not seem to be affected by the bill.
Blake Ledbetter
WASHINGTON, Jan. 8, 2025 – The same red state Senator who wants to ‘pull the plug’ on the $42.45 billion broadband deployment program has introduced a bill to downsize the federal footprint in Washington.
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, in her DRAIN THE SWAMP Act, would “require the head of each Executive agency to relocate 30 percent of the employees assigned to the headquarters of the Executive agency to duty stations outside the Washington metropolitan area.”
The Federal Communications Commission seems to be unaffected from this bill specifically, as it is labeled as “an independent U.S. government agency overseen by Congress,” according to the agency’s website. Thus, the FCC does not fall under the umbrella of Executive agencies the bill is targeting.
With this, Ernst also proposes that these agencies sell off 30 percent of their real estate — a move she believes will “save taxpayer dollars and hold bureaucrats accountable to working for Americans.”
The bill also requires all executive agency employees to return to 100% in-person work. Ernst would ban telework for anybody currently employed — except with individuals with major health restrictions.
Ernst said the bill would “promote geographic diversity, including consideration of rural markets,” and “promote in-person customer service.”
Agencies that are exempt from these measures are agencies whose members may require imminent action in the case of emergency, the Executive Office of the President, or agencies related to national security — such as the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security.
Sen. Ernst is the founder and chair of the Senate DOGE Caucus, which will partner with the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency to try and “identify and eliminate government waste,” according to a statement released by Ernst’s team.
Ernst took this role following a failed attempt at running for Senate Republican Conference Chairman, losing out to Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark.
Ernst has been vocal about her dislike for President Biden’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program, saying in a letter last November that Biden’s $7.5 billion infrastructure program had fallen short allocating the allotted money towards building EV charging stations and expanding broadband.
On November 25th, 2024, Ernst sent a letter to Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Co-Chairmen Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy urging them to 'pull the plug' on BEAD, saying the program has failed to enact any sort of change for the American people so far.
Ernst was not the only Republican Senator to attack the BEAD program: Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. slammed the program’s progress last fall prior to becoming leader.
