U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee, criticized the Biden administration on Wednesday for reducing a federal initiative aimed at enhancing union accountability and transparency.
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management has recently come under scrutiny for its decision to remove a webpage designed to hold unions accountable. In a letter obtained exclusively by The Center Square, OPM Director Kiran Ahuja defended the agency’s actions, stating that the removal was justified.
The federal webpage in question contained information about “official time,” which is a common practice where federal employees utilize work hours to engage in union-related activities. In essence, taxpayers are indirectly funding these union activities.
The page was removed last year, and in its latest letter responding to lawmakers’ concerns, OPM indicates that there are no plans to reinstate it.
According to an OPM spokesperson, the previous reports on official time are currently unavailable as the organization is in the process of reorganizing its website to enhance navigation and improve the overall customer experience.
OPM has chosen not to comment since then despite receiving multiple requests.
Concerns about the abuse of the practice have been raised by Congress and the Government Accountability Office since its codification in 1978. However, there is still a lack of publicly available documentation on the matter.
Blackburn expressed her disappointment with the response from OPM after receiving their letter.
“I’m disappointed that OPM is refusing to commit to releasing future reports that are crucial for government oversight of taxpayer funds,” expressed Blackburn in an interview with The Center Square. “The American people have the right to be informed about whether federal employees are utilizing their hard-earned money responsibly and not for the benefit of President Biden’s labor union associates.”
Biden has made a commitment to becoming the most pro-union president in history and has taken steps in other areas to increase union membership, with the cost being borne by taxpayers.
In its letter, OPM justified its actions by highlighting that it does not have a legal obligation to complete “official time” reports. Furthermore, it clarified that the decision was not made in coordination with the White House and was not influenced by political factors.
The letter explained that the removal or migration of information is a regular process to modernize and consolidate webpages, ensuring that the web content remains current and enhances the customer experience. As part of this effort, the official time reports were taken down from their original location during the website update. The most recent report from 2019 was migrated, along with several other documents, to the Agency Reports page on the OPM’s website.
The site’s most recent “official time” report dates back to 2019, indicating that no report has been compiled since President Joe Biden assumed office.