```

[Senate Report 111-177]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                                       Calendar No. 362
111th Congress                                                   Report

 2d Session                      SENATE                         111-177
_______________________________________________________________________

                   TELEWORK ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2010

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

                   COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND

                          GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                              to accompany

                                 S. 707

                TO ENHANCE THE FEDERAL TELEWORK PROGRAM

                  May 3, 2010.--Ordered to be printed
        COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

               JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut, Chairman
CARL LEVIN, Michigan                 SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine
DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii              TOM COBURN, Oklahoma
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware           SCOTT P. BROWN, Massachusetts
MARK L. PRYOR, Arkansas              JOHN McCAIN, Arizona
MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana          GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio
CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri           JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada
JON TESTER, Montana                  LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina
ROLAND W. BURRIS, Illinois
EDWARD E. KAUFMAN, Delaware

                  Michael L. Alexander, Staff Director
                     Kevin J. Landy, Chief Counsel
                   Lawrence B. Novey, Senior Counsel
Lisa M. Powell, Staff Director, Subcommittee on Oversight of Government 
    Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia
     Brandon L. Milhorn, Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel
        Amanda Wood, Minority Director for Governmental Affairs
    Jennifer A. Hemingway, Minority Staff Director, Subcommittee on 
  Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the 
                          District of Columbia
                  Trina Driessnack Tyrer, Chief Clerk

                                                       Calendar No. 362
111th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     111-177

======================================================================

 
                    TELEWORK ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2010

                                _______
                                

                  May 3, 2010.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Lieberman, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Government 
                    Affairs, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 707]

    The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 707) to enhance the 
Federal Telework Program, having considered the same, reports 
favorably thereon with amendments and recommends that the bill 
(as amended) do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
  I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
 II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
III. Legislative History..............................................7
 IV. Section-by-Section Analysis......................................7
  V. Estimated Cost of Legislation...................................12
 VI. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact.................................13
VII. Changes in Existing Law.........................................13

                         I. Purpose and Summary

    S. 707, the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010, requires 
Federal agencies to establish telework policies, determine the 
eligibility of individual employees to participate in telework 
programs, designate Telework Managing Officers, and work with 
the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to compile agency data 
for annual reports to Congress. The bill also allows Federal 
agencies to create test programs for reimbursing certain travel 
expenses of teleworking employees and establishes one such 
program within the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). The 
goal of this legislation is to ensure that Federal agencies 
more effectively integrate telework into their management plans 
and agency cultures. The recent snow emergency in the 
Washington, D.C., metropolitan area during the first half of 
February 2010 vividly underscored the importance of every 
agency having a telework policy in place and a culture that 
values and is prepared for telework.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Unprecedented snows in the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan area 
disrupted Federal employee work schedules over a period of two weeks, 
including four consecutive days when Federal offices were closed. See 
U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Federal Government Operating 
Status in the Washington, DC, Area: Archive, available online at 
[http://www.opm.gov/ status/archive.aspx]. On the fourth day that 
offices were closed, OPM Director John Berry stated that the ability of 
many Federal workers to telework was tremendously valuable in enabling 
the government to keep functioning, and he was optimistic that this 
experience would make agencies better appreciate the importance of 
``allowing as many workers as possible to telework.'' Michael Hardy, 
``OPM's Berry Discusses Telework During Government Shutdowns,'' 
GCN.COM, Feb. 11, 2010, available online at [http://gcn.com/Articles/
2010/02/11/OPM-Berry-discusses-government-closing.aspx]; see also OPM, 
News Release, ``Statement of OPM director John Berry on the Continuing 
Snow Emergency,'' Feb. 11, 2010, available online at [http://
www.opm.gov/news/statement-of-opm-director-john-berry-on-the-
continuing-snow-emergency,1546.aspx].
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

              II. Background and Need for the Legislation

    The term ``telework'' refers to work arrangements under 
which employees perform officially assigned duties at home or 
at other worksites convenient to home. The Federal government 
has permitted work--even sensitive work--at remote sites since 
at least the 1930s, when some employees worked from their homes 
or other off-site locations on such issues as financial reports 
of credit union examinations.\2\ One such remote worker--a 
consultant rocket scientist named Jack Nilles who in the 1960s 
worked from Los Angeles for the Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Air 
Force Space Program--coined the terms ``teleworking'' and 
``telecommuting'' in 1973.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\See Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report, Telework in the 
Federal Government: Background, Policy, and Oversight (RL30863), by 
Lorraine H. Tong and Barbara L. Schwemle (April 3, 2002), at page 3.
    \3\See id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    During the subsequent decades, Federal agencies began 
promoting ``flexiplace'' programs under which Federal personnel 
worked from home or remote sites. By the early 1990s the 
President's Council on Management Improvement implemented a 
pilot flexiplace program government-wide.\4\ Over the past 
decade, advances in information and computer technology have 
greatly increased the ability of many Federal employees to work 
from home or from other locations convenient to home, and in 
2006 more than 110,000 employees teleworked for the Federal 
government.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\See id., at pages 3-5.
    \5\See OPM, Status of Telework in the Federal Government: Report to 
Congress 2007 (December 2007), available online at [http://
www.telework.gov/Reports_and_Studies/Annual_Reports/
2007_TeleworkReport.pdf] (hereinafter referred to as the ``2007 
Telework Status Report''), at page 2.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    As the Congressional Research Service aptly summarized, 
numerous considerations combine to make telework a valuable 
benefit for Federal agencies:

          Management considerations, such as productive and 
        satisfied workers; environmental considerations, such 
        as reduced traffic congestion and improved air quality; 
        and quality of life considerations, such as 
        accommodating the short- or long-term health problems 
        or family responsibilities of employees, have been 
        offered as justification for telework programs. Some 
        believe that the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks 
        on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and the 
        discovery of anthrax in Washington, DC, and other 
        cities have fundamentally changed the workplace and 
        demonstrated the practical application of telework to 
        the continued operation of the government. Issues of 
        security, crisis management, disaster recovery, and 
        remote access to office computer systems are prompting 
        some federal executive and legislative branch agencies 
        and their employees to expand existing telework 
        programs or to consider telework . . . .\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \6\CRS Report, note 2 above, at Summary page.

    This Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight of Government 
Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia 
heard substantial testimony about telework's potential to serve 
as a powerful management tool for Federal agencies at a 2007 
hearing.\7\ An OPM representative, for example, testified that 
``telework is a useful tool which can help attract and retain a 
21st century high-performing workforce that produces high-
quality results,''\8\ and the Director of the PTO reported that 
teleworking at his agency has allowed for ``decreased commute 
time, greater control over workloads, and even a more balanced 
lifestyle. This all translates into increased employee 
productivity and satisfaction, as well as higher employee 
retention.''\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \7\Hearing on ``Assessing Telework Policies and Initiatives in the 
Federal Government,'' before this Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight 
of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of 
Columbia, June 12, 2007, available online at [http://hsgac.senate.gov/
public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&Hearing_ID=be652718-fa97-
45e0-a700-d2d9d7aa0313] (hereinafter referred to as the ``Telework 
Hearing'').
    \8\Testimony of Mr. Daniel A. Green, Deputy Associate Director for 
Employee and Family Support Policy, Strategic Human Resources Policy 
Division, OPM, at Telework Hearing, note 7 above.
    \9\Testimony of the Honorable Jon W. Dudas, Under Secretary of 
Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director, U.S. Patent & 
Trademark Office, at Telework Hearing, note 7 above.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    A representative of the General Services Administration 
(GSA) also testified at the Subcommittee's 2007 hearing that 
telework is a natural mechanism for agencies' emergency 
continuity of operations (COOP) plans''\10\--the plans agencies 
adopt to allow for continued work during events, such as 
natural disasters or terrorist attacks, that could prevent 
employees from getting to the agency's offices. To be an 
effective part of the COOP plan, telework must be integrated 
into the agency's normal operations, ``so that employees may 
fully transition to this alternative work arrangement in the 
event of an emergency. The result would be a better trained and 
more properly equipped work force that is allowed to 
participate in telework to the maximum extent possible.''\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \10\Testimony of Mr. Stan Kaczmarczyk, Principle Deputy Associate 
Administrator for Government-Wide Policy, General Services 
Administration, at Telework Hearing, note 7 above.
    \11\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Telework also brings benefits beyond a particular agency 
itself: for traffic decongestion, the environment, and energy 
conservation. The Federal government is the largest employer in 
the United States as well as the largest employer in the 
National Capital Region, and the environmental benefits of 
telework are a further reason to foster stronger telework 
participation by Federal employees. The GSA witness at the 2007 
hearing offered the following hypothetical illustration: ``As 
an example, if 50 percent of the Federal workforce teleworked 2 
days per week, that theoretically could cut nearly a fourth (23 
percent), or 944,000 tons of work trip emissions produced by 
Federal workers who commute to work in single occupancy 
vehicles. Collectively, these teleworking employees could 
theoretically save nearly 2 billion miles of vehicle travel, 
more than 90 million gallons of gasoline, more than 277 million 
dollars in gasoline expenses, and more than 32,000 typical work 
years of time.''\12\ Not surprisingly, the U.S. Department of 
Transportation includes expansion of telecommuting as a key 
part of the National Strategy to Reduce Congestion on America's 
Transportation Network.\13\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \12\Id.
    \13\U.S. Department of Transportation, National Strategy to Reduce 
Congestion on America's Transportation Network (May 2006), available 
online at [http://isddc.dot.gov/OLPFiles/OST/ 012988.pdf].
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Witnesses at the 2007 hearing also testified that creative 
worksite arrangements help agencies to get the most benefit out 
of telework. One such measure is called ``hoteling,'' where 
individual employees who spend much of their work time 
teleworking are not assigned their own permanent office space 
at their agency, but rather have access to shared workspace 
when they are on site. The Director of the PTO testified that 
his agency's telework program combines rigorous goal-setting 
with hoteling, ``which translates into documented space and 
related cost-savings for the PTO.''\14\ The GSA witness further 
testified that ``telework combined with alternative officing 
can enable agencies to reduce cost and improve the utilization 
of existing facilities.''\15\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \14\Testimony of Jon Dudas, note 9 above.
    \15\Testimony of Stanley Kaczmarczyk, note 10 above.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Congress has long recognized the benefits--to the 
government and to the public--of telework by Federal workers. 
Until now, though, Congress has addressed the issue piecemeal, 
primarily through appropriations legislation. The fiscal year 
1991 Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government 
Appropriations Act, for example, authorized Federal agencies to 
pay for telephone lines, related equipment, and monthly fees in 
the homes of teleworking employees participating in a telework 
pilot program.\16\ That authorization was repeated in 
subsequent corresponding Appropriations Acts\17\ and was made 
permanent in the act for fiscal year 1996.\18\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \16\Pub. L. 101-509, Sec. 624 (Nov. 5, 1990).
    \17\Pub. L. 102-141, Sec. 625 (Oct. 28, 1991); Pub. L. No. 102-393, 
Sec. 625 (Oct. 6, 1992); Pub. L. No. 103-123, Sec. 623 (Oct. 28, 1993); 
Pub. L. No. 103-329, Sec. 625 (Sept. 30, 1994).
    \18\Pub. L. 104-52, Sec. 620 (Nov. 19, 1995).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The fiscal year 2001 Department of Transportation and 
Related Appropriations Act included provisions that required 
each executive agency to ``establish a policy under which 
eligible employees of the agency may participate in 
telecommuting to the maximum extent possible without diminished 
employee performance,'' and that called on the Director of OPM 
to assure that 25 percent of the Federal workforce was covered 
by such policies within six months (April 2001) and that the 
remainder would be covered over the next three years.\19\ To 
track agencies' compliance with these requirements, the 
accompanying conference report directed OPM to survey Federal 
agencies' progress annually.\20\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \19\Pub. L. 106-346, Sec. 359 (Oct. 23, 2000) (5 U.S.C. Sec. 6120 
note); Memorandum for Heads of Executive Branch Departments and 
Agencies, from Steven R. Cohen, Acting OPM Director, subject: 
``Establishing Telecommuting Policies'' (Jan. 29, 2001) (describing the 
legislative mandate), available online at [http://www.telework.gov/
Reports_and_Studies/tw_rpt02/dirmemo1.aspx].
    \20\H.R. Rep. No. 106-940, 106th Cong., 2d Sess., at 151 (Oct. 5, 
2000).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In surveys conducted annually from 2001 through 2004, OPM 
found that agencies made substantial progress in establishing 
telework policies, though these policies fell short of covering 
the entire workforce as required under the 2001 Act.\21\ OPM 
also reported that the numbers of Federal employees eligible to 
telework rose steadily between 2001 and 2004, from 521,542 to 
752,337, bringing the total eligibility up to 44 percent of the 
1.7 million member Federal workforce.\22\ Likewise, the number 
of Federal employees actually teleworking rose, from 72,844 to 
140,694 during the years 2001 and 2004.\23\ However, in 2003, 
the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that, since 
each agency had its own telework policy to fit the agency's 
mission and culture, efforts to report on and measure telework 
programs were inconsistent.\24\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \21\OPM, The Status of Telework in the Federal Government 2002, 
available online at [http:// www.telework.gov/Reports_and_Studies/
tw_rpt02/status-toc.aspx]; OPM, The Status of Telework in the Federal 
Government 2005 (December 2005), available online at [http://
www.telework.gov/Reports_and_Studies/tw_rpt05/index.aspx].
    \22\Id.
    \23\Id.
    \24\U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), Human Capital: 
Further Guidance, Assistance, and Coordination Can Improve Federal 
Telework Efforts (GAO-03-679) (July 2003).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Concerned about the relatively low percentage of Federal 
employees actually participating in telework, Congress included 
provisions in the fiscal year 2003 and fiscal year 2004 
Appropriations Acts for the Departments of Commerce, Justice, 
and State, the Judiciary, and related agencies setting aside 
money for implementation of telework programs, requiring each 
agency to submit progress reports to the Appropriations 
Committees every six months, and directing each agency to 
designate a telework coordinator to develop agency telework 
programs.\25\ The Act for 2004 also specified that each 
agency's telework policy must provide that ``eligible employees 
may participate in telecommuting to the maximum extent possible 
without diminished employee performance.''\26\ The following 
year, Congress included a provision in the fiscal year 2005 
Commerce, Justice, and State Appropriations Act requiring 
agencies funded by the bill to certify that telework 
opportunities were offered to 100 percent of the eligible 
workforce and making $5 million of each agency's funding 
available only upon such certification.\27\ For fiscal year 
2006, the Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and Related 
Agencies Appropriations Act made $5 million of each agency's 
funding available only upon certification that the agency had 
increased the number of eligible teleworkers above the previous 
year's level.\28\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \25\Pub. L. 108-7, Division B, Sec. 623 (Feb. 20, 2003); Pub. L. 
108-199, Division B, Sec. 627 (Jan. 23, 2004).
    \26\Id.
    \27\Pub. L. 108-447, Division B, Sec. 622 (Dec. 8, 2004).
    \28\Pub. L. 109-108, Sec. 617 (Nov. 22, 2005).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Despite these actions by Congress and despite resources 
provided by OPM and GSA, only 110,592 Federal employees 
teleworked at least one day per month in 2006, which was about 
6.1 percent of the total population of Federal employees.\29\ 
Of those teleworkers, only 52 percent teleworked at least one 
day each week, and about 13 percent did so at least three days 
per week.\30\ These numbers actually declined slightly from 
2005, when 119,248 employees teleworked at least one day per 
month, constituting approximately 6.6 percent of all Federal 
employees; 25 percent of those teleworkers did so at least 3 
days per week.\31\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \29\2007 Telework Status Report, note 5 above. The decrease in 
teleworking employees from 140,694 in 2004 to 110,592 in 2006 was 
attributed to decreases in three large agencies: the Departments of 
Commerce, Treasury, and Interior. The Departments of Commerce and 
Treasury cited faulty telework reporting mechanisms across their 
components as the reason for the variation in the number of teleworking 
employees between 2004 and 2006. The Department of the Interior cited 
technological security concerns as the reason for reigning in their 
telework policy. Id., at pages 5-6.
    \30\Id.
    \31\Id., at page 8.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    At the Subcommittee's 2007 hearing, a number of witnesses 
emphasized that although many agency managers start out 
resistant to telework, experience with telework and its 
benefits often overcomes that initial resistance. For example, 
the PTO Director, who has established a robust telework policy, 
discussed the importance of convincing management to support 
telework:

          The leaders really had to be convinced originally by 
        some very bright people within the office who 
        recognized the good that could be done and that it 
        would improve morale. . . . Then it was just a matter 
        of making certain all the managers realized this is the 
        direction and the vision.\32\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \32\Testimony of Dudas, note 9 above.

    The difficulties gaining manager support for telework were 
further illustrated by a survey conducted by the Telework 
Exchange and the Federal Managers Association (FMA).\33\ As 
explained in testimony by a representative of FMA at the 2007 
hearing, the study found that managers cite productivity issues 
and a fear of not having control over employees as the top 
inhibitors of telework.\34\ However, the study also found that, 
as managers become more exposed to and involved with telework, 
they express more favorable attitudes toward telework.\35\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \33\Telework Exchange and the Federal Managers Association, Face-
to-Face with Management Reality--A Telework Research Report (January 
22, 2007), available online at [http://www.teleworkexchange.com/
managementstudy/Face-to-Face-with-Management-Reality-Study-012207.pdf], 
at slide 5.
    \34\Testimony of Tom Davison, Trustee, Chapter 275, Environmental 
Protection Agency Region 5 FMA, at Telework Hearing, note 7 above.
    \35\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    To help address managers' concerns and provide them 
reassurance about telework, the FMA witness recommended 
training of both managers and employees:

          Strong policies and procedures in place before 
        teleworking occurs is one way to ensure employees focus 
        on their work. . . . Educating managers and employees 
        alike on the benefits of teleworking would certainly 
        make one more likely to participate. Training is an 
        essential part of helping both employees and agencies 
        realize the benefits of teleworking. . .  .
          . . . Without educating managers and employees alike 
        regarding teleworking opportunities available across 
        the government, participation will remain stagnant.\36\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \36\Id.

    The Committee has concluded that telework is an essential 
tool that agencies should deploy as part of their overall 
strategies for human capital management and continuity of 
operations, and that legislation is needed to help agencies 
overcome resistance to telework arising from inertia and fear 
of the unknown. To accomplish this, S. 707, the Telework 
Enhancement Act of 2010, would require each agency to establish 
a robust telework policy, while also leaving each agency ample 
discretion to tailor and implement the policy in a manner that 
best serves its own particular circumstances. Building upon 
provisions in past Appropriations Acts that foster telework, 
this bill would be the first authorization legislation--and the 
most comprehensive legislation thus far--to address telework 
policies for government employees.
    Under S. 707, executive branch agencies would establish 
policies to authorize eligible employees to telework and would 
determine, and notify each employee of, his or her eligibility. 
These agency policies would have to ensure that telework would 
not diminish employee performance or agency operations, and 
would not apply to employees who must daily handle secure 
materials or perform on-site activities that cannot be done 
remotely. Agencies would have to incorporate their telework 
policies into their COOP plans. Agencies also would have to set 
up training programs for employees and managers involved in 
telework and designate Telework Managing Officers devoted to 
developing and implementing telework programs at their 
agencies. The bill also would authorize test programs under 
which employing agencies could pay certain travel expenses for 
employees who telework, such as the costs for employees who 
live outside of the commuting area and who generally telework 
from home to travel occasionally to the agency's offices.

                        III. Legislative History

    S. 707 was introduced by Senators Daniel K. Akaka and 
George V. Voinovich on March 25, 2009, was referred to the 
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and 
was then further referred on April 23, 2009 to the Subcommittee 
on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, 
and the District of Columbia. Senator Mary L. Landrieu was 
added as a co-sponsor on May 18, 2009.
    The Committee considered S. 707 on May 20, 2009. Senator 
Tom Coburn offered an amendment to require the PTO to conduct a 
test program to pay expenses of an employee for travel to and 
from a PTO worksite under certain conditions. The Committee 
adopted the amendment by unanimous consent and ordered the bill 
reported favorably, as amended, by voice vote. Present for both 
actions were Senators Lieberman, Akaka, Carper, Pryor, 
McCaskill, Burris, Collins, Coburn, and Voinovich.

                    IV. Section-by-Section Analysis

Section 1. Short title

    This section titles the bill the ``Telework Enhancement Act 
of 2010.''

Section 2. Definitions

    Paragraph (1)--Employee. This paragraph, by cross 
referencing 5 U.S.C. Sec. 2105, defines the term ``employee'' 
as meaning Federal civilian employees generally, including 
employees of the military exchanges. However, postal employees 
are not included in this definition of employee.
    Paragraph (2)--Executive Agency. This paragraph cross 
references 5 U.S.C. Sec. 105, which defines ``executive 
agency'' to include executive departments, government 
corporations, and other establishments in the executive branch. 
The definition under this paragraph also includes the 
Government Accountability Office (GAO). This definition applies 
to all provisions of the Act except section 7, which has its 
own definition of ``executive agency,'' which excludes GAO.
    Paragraph (3)--Telework. This paragraph defines the term 
``telework'' as a work arrangement under which an employee 
performs his or her officially assigned duties at home or at 
another location convenient to home.

Section 3. Executive agencies telework requirement

    Subsection (a)--Telework Eligibility. This subsection 
requires the head of each agency to establish a telework policy 
under which eligible employees may be authorized to telework. 
It also directs the head of each agency to determine employees' 
eligibility to telework and to inform employees of their 
eligibility.
    Subsection (b)--Participation. Under this subsection, 
agency telework policies must--(1) not diminish employee or 
agency performance; (2) require a written telework agreement 
detailing an employee's telework arrangement with the agency; 
(3) allow an employing agency to discontinue an employee's 
telework authorization if that employee does not comply with 
the terms of the telework agreement; (4) require an agency to 
deem certain employees ineligible to participate in telework if 
the employees' official duties require daily on-site activity 
that cannot be handled remotely, except in emergencies 
situations; and (5) incorporate telework in the agency's 
continuity of operations plan.

Section 4. Training and monitoring

    Subsection (a)--In General. Under this subsection, the head 
of each agency must ensure that--(1) an interactive training 
program is provided both to employees eligible to telework and 
to managers of teleworkers; (2) the training is completed by an 
employee prior to engaging in telework; and (3) teleworking and 
non-teleworking employees are treated the same for purposes of 
pay, performance appraisals, or work requirements.
    Subsection (b)--Training Requirement Exemptions. Under this 
subsection, employees who were engaged in telework prior to the 
enactment of this bill may be exempted by their agencies from 
the training requirement under subsection (a).

Section 5. Policy and support

    Subsection (a)--Agency Consultation with the Office of 
Personnel Management. Under this subsection, agencies must 
consult with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in 
developing telework policies.
    Subsection (b)--Guidance and Consultation. This subsection 
directs OPM to--(1) provide policy and guidance for telework in 
areas including pay and leave, performance management, 
recruitment and retention, accommodations for employees with 
disabilities, and others; (2) assist agencies in developing 
measures and teleworking goals; and (3) consult with the 
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on policies 
regarding continuity of operations (COOP) plans, and with the 
General Services Administration (GSA) on policies regarding 
telework centers, travel, technology, equipment, and dependent 
care.
    Subsection (c)--Continuity of Operations Plans. This 
subsection requires agencies to incorporate telework into their 
COOP plans and provides that when agencies are operating under 
their COOP plans, those plans supersede any telework policies.
    Subsection (d)--Telework Website. Under this subsection, 
OPM is directed to maintain a central website with links to 
webpages with general information about telework, 
announcements, and guidance developed by OPM and submitted to 
OPM by FEMA and GSA.

Section 6. Telework Managing Officer

    Subsection (a)--In General. Under this subsection, the head 
of each executive agency must designate a Telework Managing 
Officer (TMO) within the Office of the Chief Human Capital 
Officer (CHCO) or similar office within the agency. The 
subsection also makes conforming amendments to Appropriations 
Acts under which certain agencies now designate individuals to 
perform similar functions.
    Subsection (b)--Duties. This subsection directs the TMO to 
develop and implement telework policy and to serve within the 
agency as an advisor and resource and as OPM's primary point of 
contact regarding telework matters within the agency.

Section 7. Reports

    Subsection (a)--Definition. This subsection exempts GAO 
from the definition of ``executive agency'' for the purposes of 
section 7. (This exemption is also cross referenced in section 
2(2) of the bill, which states the definition of ``executive 
agency'' for purposes of the entire legislation.)
    Subsection (b)--Reports by the Office of Personnel 
Management. This subsection requires OPM, in consultation with 
the Chief Human Capital Officers Council (CHCO Council), to 
report on telework within 18 months after enactment of the bill 
and annually thereafter. OPM must submit its reports to the 
Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 
the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, GAO, 
and the Office of Management and Budget. These reports must 
include, for each executive agency, data on employee 
participation in telework; the reasons for any variations of 
more than 10 percent from the previous year; the agency goal 
for increasing telework participation; an explanation of 
whether or not the goal from the last reporting period was met 
and, if not, actions being taken to eliminate barriers to 
teleworking; and an assessment of the progress made and the 
impact of telework on emergency readiness, energy use, and 
other factors. OPM's annual reports are also to include best 
practices in agency telework programs.
    Subsection (c)--Comptroller General Reports. This 
subsection requires GAO to report on its telework program 
within 18 months after enactment, and annually thereafter, to 
the same Senate and House Committees referred to in subsection 
(b). GAO also must review OPM's initial report required under 
subsection (b), and report to Congress on the progress each 
executive agency has made towards meeting the goals established 
under section 5(b)(2).
    Subsection (d)--Chief Human Capital Officer Reports. Under 
this subsection, the CHCO of each executive agency must, in 
consultation with the agency's TMO, submit an annual report to 
the Chair and Vice Chair of the CHCO Council addressing agency 
management efforts to promote telework. The subsection then 
tells the Chair and Vice Chair to review the reports, to 
include relevant information in the annual report to Congress 
required under subsection (b), and to also use that information 
to formulate human capital strategies. (The Chair of the CHCO 
Council is the OPM Director, and in that capacity would prepare 
the report under subsection (b).)\37\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \37\See Pub. L. 107-292, 1303(a)(1) (Nov. 25, 2002, 5 U.S.C. 
Sec. 1401 note) (OPM Director acts as chairperson of the CHCO Council).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Section 8. Authority for telework travel expenses test programs

    This section of the bill adds a new Sec. 5711 to title 5, 
United States Code, authorizing telework travel-expenses test 
programs. New 5 U.S.C. Sec. 5711 is similar to existing 5 
U.S.C. Sec. 5710, which was enacted in 1998 and expired in 2005 
and which authorized pilot programs by agencies to test 
innovative arrangements for reimbursement of employee travel 
expenses.
    New 5 U.S.C. Sec. 5711(a). This subsection authorizes 
agencies, subject to GSA's approval, to establish test programs 
to pay the necessary travel expenses of teleworking employees. 
For example, if an agency wishes to recruit an individual who 
lives a substantial distance from the agency and who wants to 
telework, the agency might use the test program to pay for the 
employee's occasional trips to the agency's offices. Under the 
bill, telework travel test programs must be designed to save 
the Government money, so the agency would have to demonstrate 
that its ability to pay teleworkers' travel expenses would 
yield gains in efficiency and productivity that would more than 
make up for the increased travel expenses paid by the agency. 
The bill also specifies that if an employee voluntarily 
relocates away from the employee's pre-existing duty station, 
and if the agency wishes to retain the employee as a 
teleworker, the agency may establish a reasonable number of 
occasional visits to the agency offices that the employee must 
make at the employee's own expense before the employee would 
become eligible for reimbursement of travel expenses by the 
agency.
    New 5 U.S.C. Sec. 5711(b). Under this subsection, GSA must 
transmit a copy of any test program approved, and the rationale 
for approval, to Congress at least 30 days before the effective 
date of the program.
    New 5 U.S.C. Sec. 5711(c). This subsection requires any 
agency conducting a test program to provide to GSA, the 
agency's own TMO, and the appropriate committees of Congress a 
report on the results of that program not later than three 
months after the program is completed.
    New 5 U.S.C. Sec. 5711(d). Under this subsection, no more 
than ten test programs may be conducted simultaneously across 
the agencies at any one time.
    New 5 U.S.C. Sec. 5711(e). Under this subsection, the 
authority to conduct telework travel-expense test programs 
expires seven years after the date of enactment.

Section 9. Patent and Trademark Office travel expenses test program

    As noted in the preceding analysis of section 8 of the 
bill, existing 5 U.S.C. Sec. 5710 authorized agencies to 
conduct travel expense test programs, but expired in 2005. 
Section 9 of the bill amends Sec. 5710 to authorize the PTO to 
conduct a test program through 2018 for reimbursing travel 
expenses for PTO employees engaged in telework.
    Subsection (a)--In General. This subsection strikes the 
provision in 5 U.S.C. Sec. 5710(a)(1) that limits travel 
expense test programs to a period not to exceed 24 months. 
Therefore, the test program at PTO would not be subject to the 
former 24-month limit on test programs. This subsection (c) of 
the bill also repeals existing subsection (e) of 5 U.S.C. 
Sec. 5710, under which the authority to conduct travel expenses 
test programs expired in 2005, and adds new subsections (e) and 
(f) to Sec. 5710, which are described below.
    New 5 U.S.C. Sec. 5710(e)(1)-(2). These provisions require 
the PTO to conduct a travel expense test program under 5 U.S.C. 
Sec. 5710 and allow the PTO, in conducting the program, to pay 
travel expenses to and from a PTO worksite if--(A) the PTO 
employee enters into an approved telework arrangement; (B) the 
PTO employee requests to telework from beyond the local 
commuting area of the PTO worksite; and (C) the PTO approves 
the request for the purpose of employee convenience.
    New 5 U.S.C. Sec. 5710(e)(3). Under this paragraph, the PTO 
must establish an oversight committee, composed of an equal 
number of management and labor representatives, that would 
develop operating procedures for the test program.
    New 5 U.S.C. Sec. 5710(e)(4). This paragraph requires 
that--(A) the PTO test program must be designed to enhance cost 
savings or efficiencies for the Federal government; (B) the 
Director of the PTO, before implementing a test program, must 
evaluate the cost effectiveness of the program and submit an 
analysis to GSA and appropriate congressional committees; (C) 
the program may require that a PTO employee who voluntarily 
relocates from the employee's pre-existing duty station must 
make a reasonable number of occasional visits to his or her 
pre-existing duty station before the employee is eligible for 
repayment of travel expenses; and (D) the Director of the PTO, 
within three months of completion of a test program, must 
submit a report on the results of the test program to the GSA 
and appropriate congressional committees. The paragraph also 
specifies that the ``appropriate'' congressional committees are 
the Senate Committees on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs and the Judiciary and the House Committees on 
Government Oversight and Reform and the Judiciary.
    New 5 U.S.C. Sec. 5710(f)(1). This paragraph states that, 
except with respect to the PTO telework test program, the 
authority to conduct test programs under 5 U.S.C. Sec. 5710 
expired seven years after the date of enactment of the Travel 
and Transportation Reform Act of 1998. (This expiration date is 
the same as under existing 5 U.S.C. Sec. 5710(e), which the 
bill repeals.)
    New 5 U.S.C. Sec. 5710(f)(2). Under this paragraph, the 
PTO's authority to conduct test programs under the bill will 
expire 20 years after the date of enactment of the Travel and 
Transportation Reform Act of 1998.
    Subsection (b)--Effective Date. This subsection of the bill 
states that the amendments made by section 9 take effect as 
though they had been enacted as part of the Travel and 
Transportation Reform Act of 1998. The amendments include the 
repeal of existing 5 U.S.C. Sec. 5710(e), under which the 
authority to conduct test programs expired in 2005, and include 
the enactment of the new authority for PTO to conduct the test 
program. Accordingly, the repeal of the sunset and the 
enactment of the new authority apply as though they had both 
been enacted before the original 2005 expiration date.

                    V. Estimated Cost of Legislation

                                                      June 1, 2009.
Hon. Joseph I. Lieberman,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. 
        Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 707, the Telework 
Enhancement Act of 2009.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew 
Pickford.
            Sincerely,
                                              Douglas W. Elmendorf.
    Enclosure.

S. 707--Telework Enhancement Act of 2009

    S. 707 would require the executive branch of the federal 
government to establish policies to determine which federal 
employees are eligible to participate in federal telework 
programs (telework programs enable employees to work from 
places other than their official duty stations). The 
legislation also would require agencies to incorporate telework 
options into their emergency operations plans. Finally, S. 707 
would authorize appropriations to pay for the cost of two test 
programs regarding certain travel expenses of telework 
employees.
    CBO estimates that implementing S. 707 would increase 
administrative costs across federal agencies by $5 million in 
2010 and by $25 million over the 2010-2014 period assuming 
availability of appropriated funds. That amount includes 
initial costs to notify employees of their eligibility to 
participate in telework programs and the rest of the annual 
reporting requirements specified in the bill. S. 707 could 
affect direct spending and revenues, but CBO estimates that 
such amounts would not be significant in any year.
    Under current law, executive branch agencies are required 
to establish policies for employees to participate in telework 
programs to the maximum extent possible without diminishing 
employees' performance. The General Services Administration 
(GSA) and the Office of Personnel Management provide guidance 
and resources to federal agencies to support telework policies 
governmentwide. This bill would require agencies to establish 
and implement policies to enable eligible employees to 
participate in telework programs and annually report on their 
efforts.
    For most agencies, any such impact on spending would be 
subject to the availability of appropriated funds; however, the 
bill could affect direct spending by agencies not funded 
through annual appropriations, such as the Tennessee Valley 
Authority and the Bonneville Power Administration. CBO 
estimates, however, that any increase in spending for telework 
programs by those agencies would not be significant.
    The legislation also would authorize two test programs--one 
seven-year program for the government as a whole and one eight-
year program for the Patent and Trademark Office to reimburse 
the travel expenses of certain teleworking employees. CBO 
expects that few federal employees would change their work 
location as a result of those programs. We expect that any 
savings, such as lower costs for office space or diminished 
locality pay adjustments, would be offset by additional costs 
for travel and equipment so that implementing those programs 
would have no significant net impact on the federal budget.
    S. 707 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew 
Pickford. This estimate was approved by Theresa M. Gullo, 
Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                  VI. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact

    Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule 
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has 
considered the regulatory impact of this bill. The 
Congressional Budget Office (CBO) states that there are no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and no costs on State, local, or 
tribal governments. The legislation contains no other 
regulatory impact.

                      VII. Changes in Existing Law

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italic and existing law, in which no 
change is proposed, is shown in roman):

   TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE: GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION AND EMPLOYEES

                          PART III--EMPLOYEES

                     Subpart D--Pay and Allowances

          CHAPTER 57--TRAVEL, TRANSPORTATION, AND SUBSISTENCE

     Subchapter I--Travel, Subsistence Expenses; Mileage Allowances

Sec.
5701. * * *
     * * * * * * *
5711. Authority for telework travel expenses test programs

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

Subchapter I--Travel, Subsistence Expenses; Mileage Allowances

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

Sec. 5710. Authority for travel expenses test programs

    (a)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this 
subchapter, under a test program which the Administrator of 
General Services determines to be in the interest of the 
Government and approves, an agency may pay through the proper 
disbursing official [for a period not to exceed 24 months] any 
necessary travel expenses in lieu of any payment otherwise 
authorized or required under this subchapter. * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    [(e) The authority to conduct test programs under this 
section shall expire 7 years after the date of the enactment of 
the Travel and Transportation Reform Act of 1998.]
    (e)(1) The Patent and Trademark Office shall conduct a test 
program under this section.
    (2) In conducting the program under this subsection, the 
Patent and Trademark Office may pay any travel expenses of an 
employee for travel to and from a Patent and Trademark Office 
worksite, if--
          (A) the employee is employed at a Patent and 
        Trademark Office worksite and enters into an approved 
        telework arrangement;
          (B) the employee requests to telework from a location 
        beyond the local commuting area of the Patent and 
        Trademark Office worksite; and
          (C) the Patent and Trademark Office approves the 
        requested arrangement for reasons of employee 
        convenience instead of an agency need for the employee 
        to relocate in order to perform duties specific to the 
        new location.
    (3)(A) The Patent and Trademark Office shall establish an 
oversight committee comprising an equal number of members 
representing management and labor, including representatives 
from each collective bargaining unit.
    (B) The oversight committee shall develop the operating 
procedures for the program under this subsection to--
          (i) provide for the effective and appropriate 
        functioning of the program; and
          (ii) ensure that--
                  (I) reasonable technological or other 
                alternatives to employee travel are used before 
                requiring employee travel, including 
                teleconferencing, videoconferencing or 
                internet-based technologies;
                  (II) the program is applied consistently and 
                equitably throughout the Patent and Trademark 
                Office; and
                  (III) an optimal operating standard is 
                developed and implemented for maximizing the 
                use of the telework arrangement described under 
                paragraph (2) while minimizing agency travel 
                expenses and employee travel requirements.
    (4)(A) The test program under this subsection shall be 
designed to enhance cost savings or other efficiencies that 
accrue to the Government.
    (B) The Director of the Patent and Trademark Office shall--
          (i) prepare an analysis of the expected costs and 
        benefits and a set of criteria for evaluating the 
        effectiveness of the program; and
          (ii) before the test program is implemented, submit 
        the analysis and criteria to the Administrator of 
        General Services and to the appropriate committees of 
        Congress.
    (C) With respect to an employee of the Patent and Trademark 
Office who voluntarily relocates from the preexisting duty 
station of that employee, the operating procedures of the 
program may include a reasonable maximum number of occasional 
visits to the pre-existing duty station before that employee is 
eligible for payment of any accrued travel expenses by the 
Office.
    (D)(i) Not later than 3 months after completion of the test 
program under this subsection, the Director of the Patent and 
Trademark Office shall provide a report on the results of the 
program to the Administrator of General Services and to the 
appropriate committees of Congress.
    (ii) The results in the report described under paragraph 
(1) may include--
          (I) the number of visits an employee makes to the 
        pre-existing duty station of that employee;
          (II) the travel expenses paid by the Office;
          (III) the travel expenses paid by the employee; or
          (IV) any other information that the Director 
        determines may be useful to aid the Administrator and 
        Congress in understanding the test program and the 
        impact of the program.
    (E) In this paragraph, the term ``appropriate committees of 
Congress'' means--
          (i) the Committees on Homeland Security and 
        Governmental Affairs and on the Judiciary of the 
        Senate; and
          (ii) the Committees on Government Oversight and 
        Reform and on the Judiciary of the House of 
        Representatives.
    (F)(1) Except as provided under paragraph (2), the 
authority to conduct test programs under this section shall 
expire 7 years after the date of the enactment of the Travel 
and Transportation Reform Act of 1998.
    (2) The authority to conduct a test program by the Patent 
and Trademark Office under this section shall expire 20 years 
after the date of the enactment of the Travel and 
Transportation Reform Act of 1998.

Sec. 5711. Authority for telework travel expenses test programs

    (a)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this 
subchapter, under a test program which the Administrator of 
General Services determines to be in the interest of the 
Government and approves, an employing agency may pay through 
the proper disbursing official any necessary travel expenses in 
lieu of any payment otherwise authorized or required under this 
subchapter for employees participating in a telework program. 
An agency shall include in any request to the Administrator for 
approval of such a test program an analysis of the expected 
costs and benefits and a set of criteria for evaluating the 
effectiveness of the program.
    (2) Any test program conducted under this section shall be 
designed to enhance cost savings or other efficiencies that 
accrue to the Government.
    (3) Under any test program, if an agency employee 
voluntarily relocates from the pre-existing duty station of 
that employee, the Administrator may authorize the employing 
agency to establish a reasonable maximum number of occasional 
visits to the pre-existing duty station before that employee is 
eligible for payment of any accrued travel expenses by that 
agency.
    (4) Nothing in this section is intended to limit the 
authority of any agency to conduct test programs.
    (b) The Administrator shall transmit a copy of any test 
program approved by the Administrator under this section, and 
the rationale for approval, to the appropriate committees of 
Congress at least 30 days before the effective date of the 
program.
    (c)(1) An agency authorized to conduct a test program under 
subsection (a) shall provide to the Administrator, the Telework 
Managing Officer of that agency, and the appropriate committees 
of Congress a report on the results of the program not later 
than 3 months after completion of the program.
    (2) The results in a report described under paragraph (1) 
may include--
          (A) the number of visits an employee makes to the 
        pre-existing duty station of that employee;
          (B) the travel expenses paid by the agency;
          (C) the travel expenses paid by the employee; or
          (D) any other information the agency determines 
        useful to aid the Administrator, Telework Managing 
        Officer, and Congress in understanding the test program 
        and the impact of the program.
    (d) No more than 10 test programs under this section may be 
conducted simultaneously.
    (e) The authority to conduct test programs under this 
section shall expire 7 years after the date of the enactment of 
the Telework Enhancement Act of 2009.

DEPARTMENTS OF COMMERCE, JUSTICE, AND STATE, THE JUDICIARY, AND RELATED 
  AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2003 (Public Law 108-7; 117 STAT. 103; 
Feb. 20, 2003)

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

 DIVISION B--COMMERCE, JUSTICE, AND STATE, THE JUDICIARY, AND RELATED 
AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS, 2003

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

TITLE VI--GENERAL PROVISIONS

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    Sec. 623. Of the funds appropriated in this Act for the 
Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and 
the Small Business Administration, $100,000 shall be available 
to each Department or agency only to implement telecommuting 
programs: Provided, That, 6 months after the date of enactment 
of this Act and every 6 months thereafter, each Department or 
agency shall provide a report to the Committees on 
Appropriations on the status of telecommuting programs, 
including the number of Federal employees eligible for, and 
participating in, such programs: Provided further, That each 
Department or agency shall [designate a ``Telework 
Coordinator'' to be] designate a Telework Managing Officer to 
be responsible for overseeing the implementation of 
telecommuting programs and serve as a point of contact on such 
programs for the Committees on Appropriations.

DEPARTMENTS OF COMMERCE, JUSTICE, AND STATE, THE JUDICIARY, AND RELATED 
 AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2004 (Public Law 108-199; 118 STAT. 99; 
Jan. 23, 2004)

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

DIVISION B--DEPARTMENTS OF COMMERCE, JUSTICE, AND STATE, THE JUDICIARY, 
AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS, 2004

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

TITLE VI--GENERAL PROVISIONS

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    Sec. 627. The Departments of Commerce, Justice, State, the 
Judiciary, and the Small Business Administration shall each 
establish a policy under which eligible employees may 
participate in telecommuting to the maximum extent possible 
without diminished employee performance: * * * Provided 
further, That each Department or agency shall [designate a 
``Telework Coordinator'' to be] designate a Telework Managing 
Officer to be responsible for overseeing the implementation of 
telecommuting programs and serve as a point of contact on such 
programs for the Committees on Appropriations.

DEPARTMENTS OF COMMERCE, JUSTICE, AND STATE, THE JUDICIARY, AND RELATED 
AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2005 (Public Law 108-447; 118 STAT. 2919; 
Dec. 8, 2004)

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

DIVISION B--DEPARTMENTS OF COMMERCE, JUSTICE, AND STATE, THE JUDICIARY, 
AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS, 2005

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

TITLE VI--GENERAL PROVISIONS

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    Sec. 622. The Departments of Commerce, Justice, State, the 
Judiciary, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Small 
Business Administration shall, not later than two months after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, certify that 
telecommuting opportunities are made available to 100 percent 
of the eligible workforce: * * * Provided further, That each 
Department or agency shall [designate a ``Telework 
Coordinator'' to be] designate a Telework Managing Officer to 
be responsible for overseeing the implementation and operations 
of telecommuting programs, and serve as a point of contact on 
such programs for the Committees on Appropriations.

SCIENCE, STATE, JUSTICE, COMMERCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS 
ACT, 2006 (Public Law 109-108; 119 STAT. 2340; Nov. 22, 2005)

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

TITLE VI--GENERAL PROVISIONS

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    Sec. 617. The Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, 
the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Small Business 
Administration shall, not later than two months after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, certify that telecommuting 
opportunities have increased over levels certified to the 
Committees on Appropriations for fiscal year 2005: * * * 
Provided further, That each Department or agency shall 
[maintain a ``Telework Coordinator'' to be] maintain a Telework 
Managing Officer to be responsible for overseeing the 
implementation and operations of telecommuting programs, and 
serve as a point of contact on such programs for the Committees 
on Appropriations.

                                  
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