US Capitol West Side by Martin Falbisoner is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
Americans for Tax Reform joined several other free-market organizations in a letter to Congress on Wednesday in support of H.R. 9594, the Protecting Taxpayers’ Wallets Act.
H.R. 9594 was introduced by Congressman Scott Perry (R-Pa.) and swiftly referred to the House Oversight Committee. The bill would allow federal agencies to charge public-sector labor unions for the employee hours and agency resources which are used on activities that serve those unions.
Currently, federal employees who are union members can spend their on-the-clock hours working for a union instead of doing their jobs, while still being paid their taxpayer-funded salaries. The unions also use government facilities and resources to conduct their work at taxpayer expense. H.R. 9594 would recover these wasted taxpayer funds
Read the full letter here or below:
September 17, 2024
The Honorable James Comer
House Committee on Oversight and Accountability
2157 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
The Honorable Jamie Raskin
House Committee on Oversight and Accountability
2106 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Members of Congress,
We are writing to express our support for the Protecting Taxpayer Wallets Act, as introduced by Rep. Scott Perry. This vital legislation is a crucial step towards ensuring that taxpayer dollars are managed with the utmost transparency and accountability, and that government employees are focused on serving the public interest.
The Protecting Taxpayer Wallets Act addresses these priorities by implementing robust oversight mechanisms and enhancing the transparency of expenditures on the federal workforce. These measures are essential for preventing waste, fraud, and abuse, and for restoring public trust in the government’s management.
Examples abound of federal employees performing representational work for a labor union while on the clock for their official job. This is called “official time” or “union time” – when a taxpayer-funded government employee performs union work rather than their assigned task. In FY2019, the most recent year for which the data is available, over 550 IRS employees, for example, were paid taxpayers’ dollars to perform union work. Forty-six IRS Customer Service Representatives and 12 Internal Revenue Agents even used “official time” for 80 percent or more of their time at work.
The provisions within this Act— which would charge labor unions for any “official time” used by federal employees, as well as the use of any agency resources such as office space and equipment— are instrumental in creating a more accountable and efficient government. Additionally, this legislation will benefit all Americans by ensuring that taxpayer money is spent wisely and that any misuse is swiftly identified and rectified.
We urge the Committee to advance this important legislation and to continue championing policies that safeguard the financial interests of taxpayers. Thank you for your attention to this matter and for your ongoing efforts to promote transparency and accountability in government spending.
Sincerely,
Akash Chougule, Vice President, Americans for Prosperity
Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform
David McIntosh, President, Club for Growth
F. Vincent Vernuccio, President, Institute for the American Worker
Brandon Arnold, Executive Vice President, National Taxpayers Union
Tom Hebert, Executive Director, Open Competition Center