To Push Telecommuting Opportunities, Congress Hits Agencies in the Pocketbook

By Stephen Barr

Monday, November 29, 2004; Page B02

At the urging of Rep. Frank R. Wolf, Congress will withhold $5 million from the budgets of the departments of Commerce, Justice and State, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Small Business Administration and the federal judiciary until each certifies that all their eligible employees are permitted to telecommute.

Wolf (R-Va.) warned the agencies and the judiciary this past summer -- during deliberations on fiscal 2005 spending bills -- that he was disappointed in the government's slow pace of expanding the number of employees who get to work from home or at a remote telework center at least once a week.

Congress adopted his legislative hammer as part of the catchall spending agreement approved Nov. 20. It applies to the agencies that report to the House Appropriations subcommittee that Wolf chairs.

"These departments and agencies -- and the federal government, in general -- need to make a bigger commitment to teleworking," Wolf said in a statement. "I am hoping that withholding funds until they prove they have an effective program will serve as an incentive."

The agencies and judiciary have two months after President Bush signs the bill to "certify that telecommuting opportunities are made available to 100 percent of the eligible workforce," according to the bill.

The bill also requires the agencies to designate a "telework coordinator" to oversee telecommuting programs within each agency. The agencies will be required to provide the House Appropriations Committee with quarterly reports on the number of employees in their telecommuting programs.

In May, the Office of Personnel Management reported to Congress that only 6 percent of federal employees work from home or a telework center at least one day a week. The survey covered 74 agencies and more than 1.7 million employees.

Two agencies that Wolf oversees as an Appropriations Committee chairman -- the State Department and the SBA -- reported that fewer than 2 percent of their employees telecommute.

Wolf has championed a robust telecommuting program in the government as a way to decrease traffic congestion and pollution in the area. By most accounts, agencies have moved slowly on telecommuting because of concerns that work-at-home employees might be less productive and that managers dislike allowing employees to work out of their sight.

But Wolf and Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.) have gathered testimony and private-sector studies showing that the benefits of telecommuting outweigh such concerns and that, overall, telecommuters are more productive and take fewer sick days.

"With all the advances in technology today, there is just no reason to strap yourself in a metal box every morning only to drive to an office where you sit in front of a computer all day," Wolf said.

Technology allows for video conferencing over the Internet, "so not being able to talk -- or see -- co-workers on a regular basis is no longer an issue," Wolf said.

Flexible spending accounts, offered on a government-wide basis beginning in 2003, appear to be gaining steady favor with federal employees.

As of Sept. 30, OPM reported that 119,761 health care spending accounts and 18,778 dependent care accounts had been opened by employees.

On average, the participating employees set aside $1,638 in their health care accounts and $3,517 in the dependent care accounts. The higher set-aside for dependent care might indicate that participants find it easier to estimate their child- and elder-care expenses than those for health care.

FSAs allow employees to allot pretax dollars to cover out-of-pocket expenses. Employees can set aside as much as $4,000 in their health care accounts, which can be used to reimburse medical, dental and vision expenses not covered by health insurance. Employees can set aside as much as $5,000 annually for deposit in their dependent care accounts.

The "open season" for setting up a 2005 FSA is underway and ends Dec. 13.

Tom Bernatavitz, vice president in charge of Aetna's federal government business, will be the guest at noon Wednesday on Federal Diary Live at www.washingtonpost.com to discuss changes in the 2005 Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. Please join us.

E-mail: barrs@washpost.com

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