U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

72–126 DTP WASHINGTON : 2001

TELEWORK POLICIES

HEARING

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON TECHNOLOGY AND

PROCUREMENT POLICY

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON

GOVERNMENT REFORM

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED SEVENTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

MARCH 22, 2001

Serial No. 107–1

Printed for the use of the Committee on Government Reform

(

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpo.gov/congress/house

http://www.house.gov/reform

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office

Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2250

Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402–0001

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COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM

DAN BURTON, Indiana, Chairman

BENJAMIN A. GILMAN, New York

CONSTANCE A. MORELLA, Maryland

CHRISTOPHER SHAYS, Connecticut

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida

JOHN M. MCHUGH, New York

STEPHEN HORN, California

JOHN L. MICA, Florida

THOMAS M. DAVIS, Virginia

MARK E. SOUDER, Indiana

JOE SCARBOROUGH, Florida

STEVEN C. LATOURETTE, Ohio

BOB BARR, Georgia

DAN MILLER, Florida

DOUG OSE, California

RON LEWIS, Kentucky

JO ANN DAVIS, Virginia

TODD RUSSELL PLATTS, Pennsylvania

DAVE WELDON, Florida

CHRIS CANNON, Utah

ADAM H. PUTNAM, Florida

C.L. ‘‘BUTCH’’ OTTER, Idaho

EDWARD L. SCHROCK, Virginia

——— ———

HENRY A. WAXMAN, California

TOM LANTOS, California

MAJOR R. OWENS, New York

EDOLPHUS TOWNS, New York

PAUL E. KANJORSKI, Pennsylvania

PATSY T. MINK, Hawaii

CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York

ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, Washington,

DC

ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, Maryland

DENNIS J. KUCINICH, Ohio

ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH, Illinois

DANNY K. DAVIS, Illinois

JOHN F. TIERNEY, Massachusetts

JIM TURNER, Texas

THOMAS H. ALLEN, Maine

JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY, Illinois

WM. LACY CLAY, Missouri

——— ———

——— ———

———

BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont

(Independent)

KEVIN BINGER, Staff Director

DANIEL R. MOLL, Deputy Staff Director

DAVID A. KASS, Deputy Chief Counsel

ROBERT A. BRIGGS, Chief Clerk

PHIL SCHILIRO, Minority Staff Director

SUBCOMMITTEE ON TECHNOLOGY AND PROCUREMENT POLICY

THOMAS M. DAVIS, Virginia, Chairman

JO ANN DAVIS, Virginia

STEPHEN HORN, California

DOUG OSE, California

EDWARD L. SCHROCK, Virginia

JIM TURNER, Texas

PAUL E. KANJORSKI, Pennsylvania

PATSY T. MINK, Hawaii

EX OFFICIO

DAN BURTON, Indiana HENRY A. WAXMAN, California

MELISSA WOJCIAK, Staff Director

VICTORIA PROCTOR, Professional Staff Member

JAMES DECHENE, Clerk

TREY HENDERSON, Minority Counsel

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C O N T E N T S

Page

Hearing held on March 22, 2001 ............................................................................ 1

Statement of:

Capito, Hon. Shelley Moore, a Representative in Congress from the State

of West Virginia ............................................................................................ 19

Cohen, Steve, Acting Director, Office of Personnel Management; David

L. Bibb, Acting Deputy Director, General Services Administration;

Mark Lindsey, Acting Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration;

Tony Young, Director of Government Activities, NISH; Dr. Braden

Allenby, vice president for Environment, Health & Safety, AT&T; and

Jennifer Thomas Alcott, Fredericksburg Regional Telework Center ........ 27

Moran, Hon. James P., a Representative in Congress from the State

of Virginia ...................................................................................................... 15

Morella, Hon. Constance, a Representative in Congress from the State

of Maryland ................................................................................................... 22

Letters, statements, etc., submitted for the record by:

Alcott, Jennifer Thomas, Fredericksburg Regional Telework Center, prepared statement of ........................................................................................ 87

Allenby, Dr. Braden, vice president for Environment, Health & Safety,

AT&T, prepared statement of ...................................................................... 68

Bibb, David L., Acting Deputy Director, General Services Administration,

prepared statement of ................................................................................... 38

Capito, Hon. Shelley Moore, a Representative in Congress from the State

of West Virginia, prepared statement of ..................................................... 21

Cohen, Steve, Acting Director, Office of Personnel Management, prepared

statement of ................................................................................................... 30

Cummings, Hon. Elijah E., a Representative in Congress from the State

of Maryland, prepared statement of ............................................................ 7

Davis, Hon. Jo Ann, a Representative in Congress from the State of

Virginia, prepared statement of ................................................................... 13

Davis, Hon. Thomas M., a Representative in Congress from the State

of Virginia, prepared statement of .............................................................. 4

Lindsey, Mark, Acting Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration,

prepared statement of ................................................................................... 48

Moran, Hon. James P., a Representative in Congress from the State

of Virginia, prepared statement of .............................................................. 17

Morella, Hon. Constance, a Representative in Congress from the State

of Maryland, prepared statement of ............................................................ 24

Turner, Hon. Jim, a Representative in Congress from the State of Texas,

prepared statement of ................................................................................... 10

Young, Tony, Director of Government Activities, NISH, prepared statement of ........................................................................................................... 58

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TELEWORK POLICIES

THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2001

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON TECHNOLOGY AND PROCUREMENT

POLICY,

COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM,

Washington, DC.

The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:16 p.m., in room

2154, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Thomas M. Davis

(chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.

Present: Representatives Tom Davis of Virginia; Jo Ann Davis of

Virginia, Horn, and Turner.

Also present: Representatives Morella, Moran of Virginia, Capito,

and Wolf.

Staff present: Melissa Wojciak, staff director; Amy Heerink, chief

counsel; Victoria Proctor, professional staff member; David Marin,

communications director; James DeChene, clerk; Trey Henderson,

minority counsel; and Jean Gosa, minority assistant clerk.

Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. I apologize for the delay. We have

been voting on the floor. I call the meeting to order.

Good afternoon and welcome to the Subcommittee on Technology

and Procurement Policy’s first oversight hearing. I am pleased to

chair this newly created subcommittee. I look forward to a long and

productive relationship with my new ranking member, Congressman Jim Turner of Texas.

I ask unanimous consent that all Members’ and witnesses’ written opening statements be included in the record.

Without objection, it is so ordered.

I also ask unanimous consent that all articles, exhibits, and extraneous or tabular material referred to be included in the record.

Without objection, so ordered.

Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. I think that today’s hearing will be

quite valuable. We will examine Federal Government agencies’ efforts to create and promote telecommuting programs.

Telecommuting is an initiative which permits employees to work

away from the traditional workplace, generally at home or in the

work centers. Technological advances have made telecommuting an

attractive choice for employees because it gives them the flexibility

to work almost anywhere at any time.

The telework movement has gained momentum over the last 25

years and has become an option for Federal employees over the last

decade. Today, approximately 19 million people telecommute, and

the number is increasing, going up every day.

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Telecommuting has gained popularity because it promotes a productive work force and increases employee morale and quality of

life, often resulting in higher rates of worker retention. It reduces

office distractions, thereby increasing work time. It also helps the

environment by eliminating a significant number of vehicle trips

during peak hours.

Telecommuting is an option that allows employees the flexibility

to manage family responsibilities or health problems without giving

up their careers.

In the information age, skilled human capital is critical to maintaining continuity and efficiency in the workplace. However, the

Federal Government is experiencing a crisis in this area. It is costly to recruit, to hire, and train new staff on a constant basis.

Therefore, the Federal Government needs to develop programs and

policies to attract a skilled work force, and telecommuting is critical to its recruitment and retention efforts.

Telework is an area where the Federal Government should be a

leader. Instead, we are lagging significantly behind the private sector. In recognition of this, Congress passed Public Law 106–346

last year, which requires Federal agencies to develop a plan by

next month to allow 25 percent of the eligible Federal work force

to telecommute. An additional 25 percent must be permitted to

telecommute each year over the next 3 years.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my friend and colleague, Congressman Frank Wolf, for being here. Congressman

Wolf was the principal architect of the telecommuting provision.

Additionally, the subcommittee has invited to the hearing members of the local congressional district, in which General Services

Administration operates 16 telework centers with its various partners. I would like to thank Congressman Jim Moran, Congresswoman Connie Morella, and Shelly Moore Capito for attending

today, along with our subcommittee vice chairman, Jo Ann Davis,

from the First District of Virginia, and Steve Horn, a Representative from California.

Telework can fundamentally alter the culture of the organization.

Naturally, there are still many concerns associated with the Federal telework program that need to be addressed, including managers’ concerns about maintaining office productivity with fewer

workers in the main workplace; two, managers who assume that if

they cannot see an employee working, they are slacking off; three,

ensuring the necessary funding is available to support teleworkers;

four, ensuring the security of government records if they are removed from the main workplace.

So we will assess the telecommuting training policies established

by OPM and GSA and try to address these issues. Additionally, we

will focus on what further actions are necessary in order to successfully complete the implementation of this initiative.

The subcommittee will hear testimony from Mr. Steve Cohen of

OPM; Mr. David Bibb of GSA; Mark Lindsey, acting Director of the

Federal Railroad Administration; Tony Young, Director of Government Activities from NISH, a Federal contractor; Dr. Braden Allenby of AT&T; and Jennifer Alcott of the Fredericksburg Regional

Telework Center.

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We anticipate having with us members of the full committee who

are not on the subcommittee, as well as members who are not part

of the full committee.

I ask unanimous consent that they be permitted to participate in

today’s hearing.

Without objection, it is so ordered.

I yield to our ranking minority member, Congressman Turner,

for any opening statement he wishes to make.

[The prepared statement of Hon. Thomas M. Davis follows:]

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Mr. TURNER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Let me say at the outset

I’m looking forward to the opportunity to work with you on this

newly formed Subcommittee on Technology and Procurement Policy. I know that you have set forth an aggressive agenda and that

your interest and leadership in the technology field will make this

a very interesting committee for all of us to be part of.

It is, of course, appropriate that we have the hearing today on

the subject of telecommuting. We all understand that there is a crisis in terms of attracting human capital to the Federal Government. This was pointed out in a January report from the General

Accounting Office that described the Federal Government’s human

capital management practice as a high priority crisis.

Telecommuting is one way that we in the Federal Government

can attempt to be competitive with the private sector by creating

employment opportunities that are competitive with the private

sector. We all understand that telecommuting can be a way of increasing productivity and morale and retention in the Federal Government, as well as recruitment. So this is a good opportunity for

us to see what progress we have made or have not made.

As we all understand, there is a provision in Federal law that

requires the development of a plan, and it is now in the process of

being implemented. Of course, we are here today to review the

progress that we have made.

I want to mention, Mr. Chairman, one of the members of our

Committee on Government Reform, Representative Elijah

Cummings, had an interest in this hearing today and wanted to be

here and join us, but was unable to do so.

He introduced a bill last session, H.R. 4232, the Federal Workforce Digital Access Act, which provides for the development of a

technologically proficient Federal work force by issuing all Federal

employees a personal computer to facilitate e-learning, e-government, and telecommuting.

He is going to introduce this legislation again, and he asked that

I mention his interest in his legislation, as well as the subject at

hand before this subcommittee today.

I would request, Mr. Chairman, with your permission, that Mr.

Cummings’ prepared statement, that he was unable to be here to

deliver, be included as part of the record.

Mr. DAVIS. Without objection, so ordered.

[The prepared statement of Hon. Elijah E. Cummings follows:]

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Mr. TURNER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I look forward to hearing from each of our witnesses.

[The prepared statement of Hon. Jim Turner follows:]

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Mr. DAVIS. I recognize the vice chairman of the committee, the

gentlewoman from the First District of Virginia, Mrs. Davis.

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I

would like to take this opportunity to thank you for bringing this

matter to the Subcommittee on Technology and Procurement Policy. I am looking forward to serving you and the subcommittee in

this matter and in future oversights as we work to streamline government and make it more efficient and more effective.

I would also like to thank our witness panel for joining us today,

and especially Jennifer Alcott, who traveled from my district to

provide us with her insight and experiences as the manager of

three telework centers run by the Rappahannock Area Development Commission.

Mr. Chairman, as you know, telecommuting and other quality-oflife issues are a major concern for our Federal work force. Recent

reports have suggested that over half of our Federal employees will

be eligible to retire within this decade.

The Federal Government has not kept pace with the private sector in compensation and in other benefits. That fact, coupled with

the unpleasant honor of being known as one of the Nation’s most

congested cities, only hinders our efforts to attract and retain

qualified Federal employees in the Washington metropolitan area.

Just yesterday morning a staffer of mine spent 3 hours on the

road trying to reach Capitol Hill from northern Stafford within my

district, a distance of only 42 miles. That is an average of 14 miles

an hour. He represents just one of thousands of Federal commuters

who leave their homes at dawn in an attempt to do battle with our

highways and transit systems.

We expect this work force to show up for work and produce, and

yet congestion stands in their way. We need to do better, Mr.

Chairman. We know that telecommuting helps us get there.

I know the Washington metropolitan area has a world-class subway system and mass transit system and an extensive HOV program and growing rail utilization, but we must encourage alternatives to congestion when it comes to our valued Federal work

force. Flex-time, 4-day week options, and of course telecommuting

and other alternatives will assist us in creating more family friendly workplace environments and increase the quality of life for our

hard-working Federal work force.

We must continue to encourage telecommuting.

Thank you again, Mr. Chairman, for making this our focus today.

Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. Thank you very much.

[The prepared statement of Hon. Jo Ann Davis follows:]

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Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. I recognize the gentleman from

California, Mr. Horn.

Mr. HORN. Mr. Chairman, I commend you. This is truly a good

chance to look at this sort of spectrum between one end of this

country and elsewhere, and we know it has worked very successfully in some agencies. It has done very fine with a lot of corporate

situations.

In an era where mothers would like to raise their children and

could also do some excellent work, I look forward to the conclusions

you will make. Thank you for doing it.

Mr. DAVIS. Thank you very much.

I now recognize another champion of telecommuting, the gentleman from Alexandria, VA, Mr. Moran.

STATEMENT OF HON. JAMES P. MORAN, A REPRESENTATIVE

IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF VIRGINIA

Mr. MORAN. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for

championing telecommuting in every way to enhance the effectiveness of our Federal Government work force. As you know, Congressman Wolf has been very active on this, as well. But I particularly want to thank you for having this hearing, Chairman Davis.

As we will hear from our witnesses, telecommuting provides for

a work arrangement that is beneficial both to employers and employees. Furthermore, telecommuting cuts down on traffic congestion and air pollution, two issues that affect all of us, especially

constituents who commute from northern Virginia suburbs to work

in the District every day.

We are way over on our air quality attainment standards, and

that is one more very important benefit of telecommuting.

I want to touch upon another perspective that brings added

weight to the importance of this issue. The impending work force

shortage within the Federal Government promises to seriously cripple the ability of our government to meet the needs of our citizens

unless personnel issues such as telecommuting are adequately addressed.

A few figures bring home this point. According to the Washington

Post, about 30 percent of the government’s 1.6 million full-time employees—and we are talking about approximately 500,000 people—

will be eligible to retire within 5 years, and an additional 20 percent would seek early retirement.

Furthermore, 65 percent, two-thirds of the Senior Executive

Service, will be eligible for retirement by the year 2004. These statistics represent a serious drain on our human capital that we cannot ignore. As the Federal work force faces the prospect of losing

an unprecedented number of employees over the next 5 years, it is

imperative that government policies encourage, rather than discourage, the retention of our most capable workers.

Many of the bills that we have introduced in this Congress and

in past Congresses try to make the Federal Government a more attractive career option. Whether it is expanded transit vouchers to

all Federal employees, granting overtime pay for Justice Department attorneys, ensuring retirement benefits are calculated equitably for Federal employees with part-time service, our policies

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must proactively create a family friendly workplace if the Federal

Government is to meet its responsibilities.

Telecenters undoubtedly further that goal as many work and life

managers within Federal Government agencies actively promote

the program.

While telecommuting can be done from home, telecenters offer

many attractions that home telecommuting cannot match, including a quieter and better equipped work environment. Thus, for telecommuting to be a viable option, telecenters have to thrive.

I am encouraged by OPM’s and the GSA’s efforts to further family friendly workplaces through their support of telecenters. Yet, as

you will probably agree, the results have not been spectacular by

any measure. Although users appear to love telecenters, high costs

and low utilization currently make the program a poor investment.

Some of our witnesses will touch upon those points.

I look forward to discussing these issues with them during the

question and answer period.

Again, thanks for having this hearing, Chairman Davis. I appreciate all my colleagues for being here, as well.

[The prepared statement of Hon. James P. Moran follows:]

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Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. Thank you. Thank you for being

here.

The gentlewoman from Maryland, Mrs. Morella.

Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Chairman, I wouldn’t mind—not relinquishing, but allowing Mrs. Capito to speak before me, since she arrived

before me.

Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. That will be fine. You are a member

of the full committee. That is why you were recognized out of protocol.

I will be pleased to recognize another advocate for telecommuting, the gentlewoman from West Virginia, Mrs. Capito.

STATEMENT OF HON. SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF WEST

VIRGINIA

Mrs. CAPITO. Thank you, Congresswoman.

I would like to thank Chairman Davis for giving me the opportunity to share my views on telecommuting with the subcommittee

today.

I represent the Second District of West Virginia, one of the largest congressional districts east of the Mississippi, but the Second

District includes West Virginia’s eastern panhandle, that part that

goes like that, of Jefferson, Berkeley, and Morgan Counties.

The panhandle is just over an hour’s drive from Washington, DC,

and many Federal employees have relocated to West Virginia, for

obvious reasons, in recent years in an attempt to improve the quality of life for themselves and their families. This is a trend that is

likely to continue as the eastern panhandle is the fastest growing

region of my State of West Virginia.

This influx of Federal workers to the panhandle has led to significant interest in the advantages of telecommuting. There is only

one telecommuting center in West Virginia, located in the town of

Ranson in Jefferson County. In fact, the director of that center,

Niljde Gedney, is here in the audience today.

Through discussions with Nildje and others at the Ranson Telecenter, it is clear that interest in telecommuting is growing rapidly

in that area. Presently there are no fewer than 79 Federal employees on a waiting list to use our telecommuting center in Jefferson

County. There is an overwhelming employee interest in telecommuting, but minimal permission or support from the agency

that they work for. From what I understand, other telecenters report similar situations.

Public interest in telecommuting should not come as a surprise.

Telework saves time, thus contributing to a better balance between

work and family needs. From the standpoint of worker productivity, it makes common sense. Less time in the rush hour traffic commute leads to less stress and increased employee output.

Telecommuting is not only beneficial to the employee, it is highly

efficient and cost-efficient for the government. Savings comes in a

variety of forms, including reduced office space, fewer sick leave absences, and energy conservation.

According to a recent report by Government Executive News, the

U.S. Government Patent and Trademark Office conducted a telecommuting experiment designed to aid in employee retention and

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help relieve office crowding. After 2 years, the agency found that

telecommuting employees were 38 percent more productive than

employees who work in the agency office.

As Chairman Davis said in his opening statement, telework is an

area where the Federal Government should be a leader. Mr. Chairman, I strongly agree. Unfortunately, instead of leading the way,

the Federal Government has lagged behind, preferring to linger

among the 19th century ideas of bricks and mortar rather than to

move into the 21st century, a century in which neither work nor

opportunity is limited by geography or distance.

I would like to thank Representative Frank Wolf for his leadership in telecommuting initiatives, including his key role in the passage of the law which would require Federal agencies to permit

more employees to telecommute.

I would like to thank Chairman Davis for organizing today’s

hearing and giving me the opportunity to address the subcommittee. I look forward to hearing the comments from today’s witnesses,

and I am confident that we can all work to make telecommuting

a realistic and viable option for interested Federal employees.

Thank you.

Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. Thank you very much.

[The prepared statement of Hon. Shelley Moore Capito follows:]

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Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. Mrs. Morella, would you like to

make a statement now?

STATEMENT OF HON. CONSTANCE MORELLA, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MARYLAND

Mrs. MORELLA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I also thank you for

holding this critical hearing on teleworking in the Federal workplace.

As you mentioned, I am on the full committee, not on your subcommittee, but I am on Civil Service and previously had chaired

Technology in the Committee on Science; and it all comes together.

So I very much appreciate your having this hearing.

With 25 Federal agencies located in my congressional district,

this issue is of utmost importance to my constituents. I also want

to add my thanks to Mr. Wolf for all of his efforts to ensure that

the Federal Government’s support of telework programs and incentives is coming about. Certainly the fact that he put into the DOT

appropriation the requirement for the Federal agencies to move forward with teleworking is very important.

I look forward to the day that the entire Federal work force will

telework to the maximum extent possible. That is why this hearing

is so important, to find out what impediments there are and what

barriers, and what we can do to make sure the process works.

I also want to commend Mr. Wolf for a bill that I am a cosponsor

of—and I believe most of us here are; I know you are, Mr. Chairman—H.R. 1012, the Telework Tax Incentive Act. With its passage,

individuals and companies will be eligible for a $500 Federal tax

credit for expenses under a teleworking arrangement. The telework

tax incentive will enable individuals to acquire the furnishings and

electronic information equipment that are necessary to telework. I

hope this critical piece of legislation moves quickly out of committee and onto the House floor.

While there is no magic bullet that will solve all of our Nation’s

problems, teleworking comes somewhat close, and as has been

noted, for every 1 percent of the Washington metropolitan region

work force that telecommutes, there is a 3 percent reduction in

traffic delays.

Teleworking, in turn, benefits the environment by reducing the

number of vehicles and the amount of their harmful emissions.

Fewer vehicles also means less gas and oil consumption. I feel that

teleworking programs and incentives should be a key component in

any energy conservation program. Only when our Nation is less dependent on oil to fuel our economy will we be less susceptible to

the influence of foreign oil producers.

Teleworking also removes barriers to stay-at-home parents, the

elderly, and the disabled. These groups can make significant contributions to the business world, but are often unable to leave their

homes. Eventually, telework will supplant our perception of ‘‘workplace location’’ as an essential to workplace productivity.

Finally, telework will serve many families well by allowing parents to spend more time with their children. A working parent no

longer has to be an absent parent. Picking your children up from

the bus stop should not be an anomaly.

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Having been the chair of the Technology Subcommittee for 6

years, I know full well the impediments to making telework programs a success. I know my colleague, Steve Horn, who chaired the

parallel committee here in this Committee on Government Reform,

would agree.

Not every household has the space for a home office. Even if one

did, an individual or company may not want to dedicate the necessary resources to furnishing it properly, at least until the

Telework Tax Incentive Act passes. Broadband Internet access is

also not available or even currently plausible in some neighborhoods. Without the ability to use the Internet and e-mail with

minimal delays, an individual may waste valuable work time at

home.

The ultimate impediment to telework’s success, of course, is the

issue of trust. The idea that an individual only works when seated

in a cubicle is simply outdated. This hearing must convince the

Federal agencies of the private sector claims that telework programs increase productivity.

These impediments will be overcome as technology advances.

With laptops and palm pilots, our work force will be connected

wherever they are.

Today we are acting as architects of a new, mobile work environment, and with the cooperation of the Office of Personnel Management and the General Services Administration, the Federal Government will once again be an example for the various States and

also for the private sector.

Thank you again, Mr. Chairman, for the opportunity to be here

at today’s hearing. I look forward to hearing from our witnesses.

[The prepared statement of Hon. Constance A. Morella follows:]

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Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. Thank you very much, Mrs.

Morella.

I would like to ask our witnesses to step forward now. I may interrupt you in the middle if Mr. Wolf comes, because he has been

such a father of telecommuting, and allow him to make a statement, but I think we will proceed.

I would like each of you to step up and raise your right hands

because, you know, in this subcommittee we swear our witnesses.

We have Steve Cohen, Acting Director, Office of Personnel Management; David Bibb, Acting Deputy Director, General Services Administration; Mark Lindsey, Acting Deputy Administrator, Federal

Railroad Administration; Tony Young, Director of Government Activities at NISH; Dr. Braden Allenby, vice president, Environment,

Health and Safety at AT&T; and Jennifer Alcott, director of the

Washington Metropolitan Telework Centers.

[Witnesses sworn.]

Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. To afford sufficient time for questions, if the witnesses could limit themselves to 5 minutes in their

oral statements, and all the written statements are going to be

made part of the permanent record.

We will start with Mr. Cohen and then we will move to Mr. Bibb,

Mr. Lindsey, Mr. Young, Dr. Allenby, and Ms. Alcott.

Please proceed, Mr. Cohen. Thank you for being with us today.

I am sorry, Mr. Wolf is the father of telecommuting at the Federal level, so I will interrupt the witnesses.

Frank, we appreciate your being here. We would like to offer you

the opportunity to make a statement. Everybody has noted the significant contribution you have made for the legislation. We appreciate your presence.

Mr. WOLF. I will be quiet and listen, but thank you, very much.

Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. Go ahead, Mr. Cohen.

STATEMENTS OF STEVE COHEN, ACTING DIRECTOR, OFFICE

OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT; DAVID L. BIBB, ACTING DEPUTY DIRECTOR, GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION;

MARK LINDSEY, ACTING ADMINISTRATOR, FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION; TONY YOUNG, DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES, NISH; DR. BRADEN ALLENBY, VICE

PRESIDENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, HEALTH & SAFETY, AT&T;

AND JENNIFER THOMAS ALCOTT, FREDERICKSBURG REGIONAL TELEWORK CENTER

Mr. COHEN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee. I am pleased to be here today to discuss the Office of

Personnel Management’s efforts to promote telework by Federal

employees.

While OPM has been providing Federal agencies with guidance

on telecommuting over the past decade, implementation has not

been as quick as many would have liked, certainly not as quick as

we would have liked.

We believe this is partly due to misconceptions about telecommuting as a viable work option. However, the Federal Government is now faced with the need to become more competitive in the

job market, and of course there is a greater need to reduce traffic

congestion, particularly in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area.

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For these and for many other reasons the timing is right to accelerate efforts to help agencies recognize the value of telecommuting

and increase its use as an important tool as we seek more efficient

ways to work, to recruit and retain highly skilled employees, and

to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution.

We know from research that telecommuting can enhance productivity, morale, retention, and recruitment efforts, and therefore, can

be of much benefit to Federal agencies in accomplishing their missions. For their part, employees realize financial benefits and savings from reduced commuting costs as well as an improved quality

of life.

We have taken a number of steps already to improve the utilization of telework. We are working with the General Services Administration to revise telework policies and issue new policy guidance

that includes checklists and sample policies.

We are developing distance learning training modules for supervisors and managers that are easy to use and provide concrete examples demonstrating how telework can be used successfully.

We are posting telework information on a one-stop shopping page

on our Web site. We are offering seminars on telework, such as our

recent half-day seminar that was attended by over 300 participants.

We are developing a full-day conference this summer to train

Federal managers and agency telecommuting coordinators on how

to use telework successfully.

We are distributing a compendium of telecommuting success stories and other publications.

We are continuing to provide technical assistance to agencies and

employees on telecommuting issues, and we are establishing an

interagency working group that is addressing telework policy

issues that need clarification. This group will serve as an important

forum for dialog and problem-solving.

These efforts reflect our belief that a major educational effort is

needed to teach managers and employees alike about the benefits

of telework and what makes for a successful telework arrangement.

We are working with a number of organizations to develop these

training modules.

We are also in the process of developing guidance for agencies on

evaluating the effectiveness of telework in a wide range of other

work/life-wellness programs. Through these efforts, we will acquire

a broader base of evidence concerning the effectiveness of these

programs.

At this time, we are also collecting baseline data from agencies

on the status of agency policy development and implementation. As

you know, under the fiscal year 2001 Transportation Department

Appropriations Act, all executive agencies are required to establish

policies on telework and to increase each year the portion of the

work force that is covered by such policies. We are surveying agencies to make sure that they have developed telework policies, and

to see what those policies provide.

We have also asked agencies to identify barriers that may limit

the number of employees engaged in telework. Agencies are to report to us in April. We are looking forward to completing this procVerDate 11-MAY-2000 10:38 May 18, 2001 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\DOCS\72126.TXT HGOVREF1 PsN: HGOVREF1
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ess soon, and we are eager to analyze the data so that we can help

agencies move forward.

In your invitation, you asked what OPM is doing to ensure consistency across agencies regarding certain elements of their

telework policies. Our guidance provides checklists and sample

policies to make sure that agencies do not overlook any essential

elements of a sound telework policy.

For example, we have made it clear to agencies that their policies

should address how to identify eligible employees, performance

issues, time and attendance issues, provision of telecommunications

equipment and services, and reporting requirements.

Finally, you asked about the role and operation of telecenters in

the Federal Government. Since this is a responsibility of the General Services Administration, I defer to GSA on your questions concerning telecenters.

I can assure you, Mr. Chairman, that we at OPM are keenly

aware that telework holds significant benefits for the Government

and Federal employees, and that we are committed to doing all

that we can to substantially increase the use of telework in the

Federal Government. I think it is important to note, however, that

while there is a lot we can and must do to promote telework by

providing guidance, by educating managers, by monitoring agency

implementation, by sharing best practices, the legislation that has

been enacted gives to each agency the authority to develop and implement specific telecommuting policies.

Again, I appreciate the opportunity to speak with you today. I

would be happy to respond to any questions you may have.

Thank you, sir.

Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. Thank you very much.

[The prepared statement of Mr. Cohen follows:]

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Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. Mr. Bibb.

Mr. BIBB. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee and committee.

I am David Bibb. I am the Acting Deputy Administrator of the

U.S. General Services Administration. I also serve as head of the

Real Property Policy Office in GSA’s Office of Government-Wide

Policy, and my testimony today will provide some information on

that office’s role.

Switching to the operational side, I will provide information

about the Washington, DC, telecenters; and finally I will narrow

the focus to show how GSA has done, implementing programs for

our own employees.

GSA’s Office of Government-Wide Policy’s efforts to support the

use of telework at the Federal level include an active outreach and

communications program. We partner with professional organizations, such as the International Telework Association and Council,

and we engage in numerous GSA and interagency initiatives that

explore the benefits of telework.

For example, right now GSA and the Office of Personnel Management are leading a major governmentwide policy review to resolve

issues that could impede the growth of Federal telework.

Switching from policy to operations, GSA-operated telecenters

have provided an alternative that allows employees to perform office functions at a site close to their homes. The 16 telecenters operated by GSA’s Public Buildings Service in the Washington metro

area offer 339 work stations that were used by 362 employees last

year from 17 executive branch agencies.

Of the 17 agencies that use the telecenters, 3 dominate and account for approximately 66 percent of Federal Government telecenter occupancy. Those are Defense, GSA, and Transportation.

To date, as a group, the telecenters are not breaking even economically. However, I believe that we must carefully track the impact of Public Law 106–346 and its charge to dramatically increase

telework in assessing the future viability of the centers.

When we last performed an agency-wide count in GSA itself, 2

years ago, we had 750 teleworkers, which is about 7 percent of our

eligible work force and one of the higher rates in the Federal Government. One of the things that was mentioned earlier was alternative work schedules, where a Federal employee works 9 hours a

day or 10 hours a day and then receives 1 day off during that

week, or 1 per pay period.

We have over 8,300 employees in GSA participating in alternative work schedules, 58 percent of our total work force. Of

course, that means 8,300 persons are eliminating a commute once

or twice a pay period, thanks to that program.

There are many examples of offices or organizations within GSA

that have implemented successfully telework initiatives. A good example is our Public Buildings Service in the New England region,

where the entire staff was offered the opportunity for telework in

response to transportation problems associated with the Big Dig in

downtown Boston.

Currently, 23 percent of eligible workers in the Boston area work

from home on a regular basis.

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Based upon our own experience at GSA, our work with other

agencies, our ongoing networking with the private sector, and our

own research, we would recommend a focus on four areas in order

to improve the prospects for teleworking where increased usage is

desired.

First, both management and staff need training on how to work

in a telework environment, including a focus on results, rather

than where the work gets done.

Second, potential users must continue ongoing initiatives that

identify problems and find solutions, such as the OPM-GSA policy

review, the technology barrier study requested by Congress in its

last session, and greater use of the Internet to communicate policy

guidance and exchange information and best practices.

Third, we need to recognize that greater numbers of telecommuters will require an increased investment in technology,

connectivity, and training.

The typical benefits—we have heard some of those already:

greater employee satisfaction and productivity, less traffic congestion and pollution, greater flexibility to achieve work/life balance,

and a more technologically savvy work force. However, these benefits are difficult to measure in terms of traditional economic return.

It is often difficult for an agency to allocate scarce funds toward

startup costs.

Also, while it is possible that greater numbers of telecommuters

might eventually decrease global real estate needs, so far there has

been little reduction in space as a result of telework in either the

government or in the private sector.

Finally, the most important mechanism to increase telework in

any organization is cultural change. Top management must communicate that telework is encouraged, where practical, and it must

convey the rationale for its use.

Again, Mr. Chairman, I appreciate having the opportunity to appear here today, and I would be pleased to answer any questions

when that time comes.

Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. Thank you very much.

[The prepared statement of Mr. Bibb follows:]

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Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. Mr. Lindsey.

Mr. LINDSEY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is a pleasure to appear before you and the subcommittee today to address telecommuting. This is a very popular program at FRA. We have managed to make it work rather well. Telling you a little bit about

FRA, I think will help to tell you why.

We are a relatively small agency of 735 people. Our basic mission

is railroad safety. In addition, we oversee Amtrak, deal with railroad financial assistance, and the economics of the industry.

We have two different populations eligible for telecommuting, one

at headquarters here in Washington, DC, and the other our safety

field force, which is scattered throughout the country.

The needs of the employees in those two forces are quite different, and the way telecommuting has been handled in them differs accordingly. It is wildly popular with our safety inspectors in

the field. We have 360 of those; 65 percent of them telecommute

at this point. What it means is that they are able to locate their

homes within the district that they cover in their inspections, and

instead of traveling to a regional office or another FRA office every

day and then going from there to do inspections, they can go from

home. They do their administrative work at home, as well, and

communicate with their supervisors then via either computer or

telephone, or both. It is extremely important.

To be able to do that, though, we have been able to invest heavily in computer systems and telecommunications systems. Without

them, this simply would not work.

It is equally vital for our headquarters population. In headquarters, largely we have professionals like economists, engineers,

lawyers, human resources personnel, folk of that sort. We have

very few full-time telecommuters in headquarters, but quite a few

people who telecommute occasionally.

We have been flexible in establishing our policies, and I think

that has been critical to make it work, to look at the nature of the

work that each person does and to make eligible for telecommuting

any work that is suitable for being done outside the office; so that,

for example, if a lawyer is writing a large safety rule that requires

spending time in isolation and focusing and concentrating carefully,

that is a wonderful thing to do at home. It does not work quite as

well on a day when the same person needs to meet with a wide variety of people. So at headquarters it has worked better to have

people eligible to telecommute from time to time as the nature of

their work has made it desirable to work on something in isolation

and without interruption.

Overall in the agency, 38 percent of our employees telecommute

four or more times a month. It is very popular with employees.

The popularity with supervisors is more mixed. Among the challenges that we had to face in putting together a successful telecommuting program was what happens with supervisors who have

to do additional work to actually make this work.

It takes extra planning to make sure that you have a clear understanding with the employee as to what is to be done. It takes

extra work to assure that the people necessary are present in the

office when key meetings have to happen. It is extra work on the

supervisor also when last-minute matters appear on a day when

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the person who normally handles them is telecommuting, but

something has to be done here and now.

We took all of that into account by involving both supervisors

and employees in putting together plans specific to each office within the agency so that everyone’s concerns were on the table; and

we tried flexibly to work them out in a way that met everyone’s

needs. Thus far, that seems to be working quite successfully.

The program I think is meeting the goals that you have set for

us. It definitely helps with issues like retention. It definitely helps

to make us a more family friendly environment. We are able, for

example, in headquarters, when someone has a sick child or an elderly parent in need of care to accommodate the family needs that

way.

It often helps people with civic participation when perhaps the

2 to 21⁄2 hours that they might spend commuting in the Washington, DC, area can be devoted, instead of commuting, to actually

doing something in their communities.

For all of those reasons, I think it is a very valuable and very

successful program. Thank you.

Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. Thank you very much.

[The prepared statement of Mr. Lindsey follows:]

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Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. Mr. Young.

Mr. YOUNG. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am Tony Young, director of Governmental Activities for NISH.

NISH is the central nonprofit agency designated by the Committee for Purchase from People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled

to assist Community Rehabilitation Programs interested in offering

employment opportunities to people with severe disabilities

through Federal contracts under the Javits-Wagner-O’Day program.

I learned some valuable lessons about telework in my job at

NISH. I found that due to the nature of my disability, traveling

daily to the office is an inefficient use of my time and personal resources. Instead, using a personal computer, Internet connection,

telephone, and fax, I telework from home, and concentrate my external efforts where they are most needed.

Not everyone is as fortunate as I am to have a job and an employer with this flexibility. I am an advocate of telecommuting because I know it can work. It does for me.

At NISH we are convinced that government agencies need to do

more to reach the underutilized work force of people with disabilities to meet their staffing needs. I am not aware of a single government contract that employs great numbers of individuals with

disabilities through telework. There are still too many barriers to

remove for that to happen. These barriers are similar to those

found in the private sector.

I would like to share with you some of the telework lessons we

have learned. Specifically, I would like to present the findings of

one of our best community rehabilitation programs, ServiceSource,

Inc., of Alexandria, VA. ServiceSource provides job training and

employment to over 1,300 people with significant disabilities. They

successfully operate 28 contracts that provide Federal agencies

with services such as mail center and food service operations to

document conversion and administrative support.

Sitting behind me is Janet Samuelson, president of

ServiceSource. Janet is an outspoken advocate for individuals with

disabilities and the use of telework as a viable employment option.

She and her team began their efforts to promote telework in 1998,

when they received funding from the Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services to begin TIP, the Telecommuting Initiative Pilot.

TIP was created to help determine the viability of telework as an

employment option for those receiving vocational rehabilitation

services.

When Janet and her team began the telework pilot project, they

planned and implemented a four-pronged approach that includes

working closely with participants to understand their needs; determining the most viable employment models for telework, including

direct hire and job-sharing; understanding the current labor market and business needs for telework; and emphasizing job placement and positive employment outcomes.

To date, ServiceSource has contacted over 400 businesses in the

Washington metropolitan area, out of which about 40 have participated in efforts to explore the potential for telework. From the

start of the pilot, ServiceSource encountered significant barriers to

telework. Commercial businesses cited the lack of accountability,

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the need for management control, other priorities, and customer reluctance as the primary reasons why telework won’t succeed in

their particular business setting.

ServiceSource has learned that effectively removing those barriers requires technology, tools, and management techniques.

Also, like any population of workers, teleworkers need to be well

managed. Work should be divided into manageable tasks, reviewed

frequently, and measured to determine performance. Excellent

communication tools are absolutely necessary to keep everyone informed. Finally, teleworkers need to be qualified. Not everyone has

the skills and temperament to be a teleworker.

ServiceSource considers its telework project a success. Since December 1999, they have provided contract employment to teleworkers with significant physical and emotional disabilities. For instance, 10 workers are under contract to SoftZoo.com, an Internet

startup firm in Reston, VA. These employees perform Web research

and populate the SoftZoo.com data base with information on commercially available software packages.

These findings highlight the need for Congress to take additional

steps to remove barriers to telecommuting and to encourage Federal agencies and private employers to offer telecommuting to their

employees and contractors as a work option. Specifically, NISH recommends these actions: One, Congress should swiftly enact President Bush’s New Freedom initiative; two, Congress should encourage agencies that outsource call center and similar operations to

contract with the JWOD program; three, the Telework Tax Incentive Act, H.R. 1012, should be extended to offer a benefit to notfor-profit organizations equal to the $500 tax credit for businesses;

four, the Small Business Telecommuting Act, H.R. 1035, should be

extended to direct SBA to also raise telework awareness among

not-for-profit agencies that offer employment services to people

with disabilities.

Telework is an exciting way to work and to do business. I believe

that telework has tremendous potential for many workers, including those with significant disabilities.

Telework must very soon offer a meaningful employment option

to a much larger number of individuals with and without disabilities. Thank you for your interest and support on this issue. I will

be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. Thank you very much.

[The prepared statement of Mr. Young follows:]

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Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. Dr. Allenby.

Mr. ALLENBY. Thank you, Chairman Davis, Congressman Turner, and members of the subcommittee, for inviting testimony from

AT&T on the topic of telework. We appreciate the opportunity to

share the results of some of our experience with you.

AT&T started a pilot program in Los Angeles in 1989, and then

in Phoenix in 1990, with a handful of employees. The benefits to

the company, the employee, and the community then drove

telework forward, as opposed to any formal incentives or goals.

Today 56 percent of our managers telework at least 1 day a

month, 27 percent telework 1 day a week or more, and 11 percent

telework 100 percent of the time from a virtual office.

It was, after all, only with the advent of the manufacturing economy of the industrial revolution that workers began leaving their

homes each day, assembling together for employment, then returning home. That is because a manufacturing economy focuses on

place, the factory, because that is where the productivity has to

occur.

An information economy, on the other hand, focuses on knowledge, and that is produced independent of place, time, and disability challenge constraints.

Our research indicates that the benefits of telework increase and

challenges decrease as participation rises. There seems to be a critical mass. The first teleworker in a work group is an oddity and

has a difficult time succeeding. When practically all the people in

a work group are virtual workers, as in my current environment,

health, and safety organization, we begin to see rapid business improvement and higher performance.

How successful individual managers are in managing remote

workers depends very much on how well they managed workers in

a traditional office environment. Those who were successful with

managing by objectives and evaluating output will have less problem. Those, however, who manage by TAD, time at desk, and by

how busy they perceive an employee is, are going to have a difficult

time.

One factor which we find shrinks the eligibility for telework is

the digital divide between the home and the office. Our employee

research has shown that lack of Broadband into the home is a

major barrier to increased participation.

Going forward, we think that labor and employment issues, important to both the employee and employer, need to be addressed,

including ADA, EEO, insurance and liability requirements, OSHA

compliance, compensation laws, wage and hour lawsuits, and tax

issues.

Telework is often seen as an employee benefit, and indeed it is.

There are major business benefits as well, however. At AT&T we

save about $25 million a year in real estate through our virtual office programs. Our telecommuters report being more productive.

The teleworker, after all, has available the previously nonproductive commute time. We find that our office workers report 6.2 productive hours in an 8-hour day. Our telecommuters report 7.5

hours in an 8-hour day.

Our data show that not only are telecommuters more productive

as individuals, they are more productive on a per-hour basis, as

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well. Seventy-seven percent of all AT&T telecommuters reported

higher productivity at home, a figure that was also reported by

their managers, equating to about $100 million a year.

Recruitment and retention are other important benefits, and that

has been mentioned. Sixty-seven percent of our AT&T managers

report that not giving up an AT&T telework environment was a

factor in their decision to remain with the company when they had

other opportunities. In addition, 77 percent of our employees who

work from home reported greater satisfaction with their current career opportunities.

In total, looking at the environmental benefits, we avoided 110

million miles of unnecessary driving, and eliminated the energy

consumption and pollution that would have been associated with

that.

We find that we have had experience in many different kinds of

telework. Frankly, how it is set up does not matter because, of

course, the purpose is really to separate place and time from the

product, which is knowledge.

Members of the subcommittee, we feel that Congress can play a

key role in accelerating the deployment of telework by considering

certain legislative initiatives. Representative Frank Wolf recently

introduced H.R. 1012, as I think was noted by Congresswoman

Morella, giving tax credits for expenditures associated with teleworking. Additional consideration should be given to enhancing the

proposed legislation to double the tax credit of each employee covered under the ADA and for each employee of a small business. We

also think that favorable depreciation rates for Broadband facilities

might be an important enabling function.

Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, thank you for

the opportunity to share the AT&T story on telecommuting and

offer our company’s resources to work with the committee. Thank

you.

Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. Thank you very much.

[The prepared statement of Mr. Allenby follows:]

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Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. Mrs. Alcott.

Ms. ALCOTT. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the subcommittee, and guests. My name is Jennifer Alcott. I am here

today to represent the Washington Metropolitan Telework Centers,

which is a coalition of the local managing partners of the 15 Federal telework centers around Washington, DC.

I have been intimately involved with this program for almost 7

years now, and I manage three facilities that are located along

Interstate 95 between the Capitol Beltway and Fredericksburg, VA.

The telework centers were established at the direction of Congress by the U.S. General Services Administration, beginning in

1993, in an effort to promote telework within the Federal Government. The centers provide workstation space, computers, phones,

Internet access, and technical support to employees from Federal,

State, and local governments and private sector companies that

will allow their employees to make use of modern technology to

perform their jobs at least part of the time in a facility closer to

their home.

At present, the 15 centers are at about 54 percent capacity in

terms of the number of workstation seats reserved full time. The

utilization rates for any given center range from about 25 percent

to about 80 percent, and some of the centers have been at 100 percent capacity at certain times.

The clientele base for the telework centers is currently composed

of about 77 percent Federal employees and 23 percent non-Federal

users, with non-Federal use being defined as use by a State or local

government, a private sector company, a nonprofit organization, or

an individual citizen.

Only a very small handful of Federal contractor employees make

use of the telework centers, and an interesting number to tell you

is that over 600 constituents made use of the telework centers in

fiscal year 2000, and that includes Federal and non-Federal use.

Most of the telecommuters that use the centers use the facilities

an average of two times per week and then they commute into the

Washington, DC area the rest of the days of the week. At least 11

of the centers have performed formal surveys to measure customer

satisfaction among their clientele, and at a recent survey that we

conducted in the three centers that I manage about 95 percent of

our customers reported that they are either extremely satisfied or

very satisfied with the facilities.

Surveys of other northern Virginia centers report that 95 percent

of their users are either satisfied or very satisfied and surveys conducted in southern Maryland show similar results. While the vast

majority of the tens of thousands of telecommuters in the Washington, DC region work from home when they telecommute, my experience over the last 7 years with hundreds of telecommuters and

their managers and employers has shown a variety of reasons of

why a small but very important percentage of these telecommuters

and their managers prefer center-based telework.

For example, many managers are more comfortable with the professional environment that a telework center provides, and they

prefer to take advantage of the technical support that is available

onsite rather than relying solely upon the technical support over

the phone that their organization can provide.

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In addition, a number of telecommuters simply do not have the

space or the resources within their home to set up a home office.

In addition, many employees prefer the distinct delineation between their work lives and their home lives that center-based telecommuting provides.

Center-based telework can also help avoid the feelings of isolation that some home-based telecommuters have reported. In addition, the centers currently serve as a resource for home-based telecommuters that don’t need the amenities of the centers every day

but would like to make use of them on occasion, and we feel very

strongly that the telework centers fill an important market niche

and are a valuable contribution in the overall promotion of the benefits of telework in our communities.

In order for the telework center program to continue successfully,

it needs the full and long-term support of the General Services Administration, which is the Federal agency that currently oversees

the program. Over the past 7 years the program has been shifted

amongst several different divisions of GSA and even today the program is not funded and overseen by one central office at GSA.

These functions are divided geographically between two regions.

In addition, in the past there has been no long-term commitment

from GSA toward the program in terms of either management or

funding, and the local managing partners never know from year to

year whether the facilities will remain open in the next fiscal year

or whether they will be forced to shut down. In spite of these obstacles, the local managing partners have remained committed to

working with the Federal Government on this program because we

firmly believe that telework works for the benefit of the citizens,

the employers, the community and the Nation as a whole.

In an ideal world, the program involving the telework centers

would be funded and facilitated by a division of either GSA or another Federal agency whose mission and focus is the implementation of innovative policies that benefit the employer, the employee

and the community as a whole rather than viewing these centers

as simple real estate. Effective, efficient and supportive management is the key factor in the success of any program, and when we

combine this with the accountability that is now being required of

Federal agencies by Public Law 106–349, we feel that the total

work center program will be even more successful in the future

than it has been to date, and I would be happy to answer any questions that you have.

[The prepared statement of Ms. Alcott follows:]

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Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. Thank you very much. Let me start

the questioning down on my left with Ms. Capito.

Mrs. CAPITO. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have a question. I believe it is probably for Mr. Bibb. In my opening statement I stated

in our Jefferson County telecommuting center we have 79 Federal

employees that are on a waiting list who want to have this made

available to them, and I was wondering what the holdup is or what

you perceive to be the problem and why we are not able to fill our

telecenters.

Mr. BIBB. Well, I think the overriding problem with filling the

telecenters has simply been the pool of potential users who have

been given the OK by their agencies, as you’re intimating. There

are reasons that agencies will cite in not giving authority to

telework either at home or in a telecenter. Those include double

costs, to provide a work space in the office and to repeat costs in

a telecenter or to set up a home telecenter in some cases. There—

also we’ve heard testimony that touches on this. There is some inherent management reluctance to have employees out of sight; how

can you supervise? My experience has been if you can supervise in

the office with proper performance measures you can do that in a

remote location, but I think those two things, I think the cost and

the reluctance on the part of some managers are the biggest problems we have, not just with the telecenters but with teleworking

in general.

Mrs. CAPITO. Thank you. That’s my only question.

Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. Will the gentlelady yield for a second?

Mrs. CAPITO. Yes.

Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. You heard the AT&T story, about

basically you have to change the culture if you want to change

that. I guess our question is these centers are out there, they’re not

operating at capacity, what are we doing to change the culture in

these agencies?

Mr. BIBB. Well, there have been, and Mr. Cohen may want to

jump in from the standpoint of OPM’s efforts governmentwide, but

there’s been a lot of education, a lot of publicity. I venture to say

there are very few Federal employees who don’t know of the existence of telecenters.

Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. Mr. Bibb, I think the problem is,

I mean the employees I talk to are dying to be able to use this, but

the agencies are just not giving them the encouragement and the

go-ahead because they’re just operating under an old mindset, an

old model, and that’s what’s got to change.

Mr. BIBB. I would agree. There is a lot of the old mindset. The

Federal Government’s effort by and large over the last 6 or 7 years,

particularly when home teleworking became feasible because of

connectivity and the machines that could be placed in the home,

was primarily: This is a great idea and it is going to catch on over

time and there will be a natural growth in use. The numbers have

shown that hasn’t happened. The numbers are pretty low, so now

we do have a different ball game. We have a piece of legislation

that would require agencies to hit certain targets, and I believe

that’s going to change the playing field.

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Mr. Cohen may want to add with your permission, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. Sure.

Mr. COHEN. Yes, sir. I totally agree that there needs to be an attitudinal, and mindset change within the Federal service and

among supervisors and managers. This is something that is in fact

going to take time. It is something that we’re all working toward.

We need to do a better job of demonstrating to our supervisors and

our managers that telework can help. It can help in terms of mission accomplishment, it can help in terms of productivity. As a

matter of fact, we’ll be issuing a publication very shortly that will

demonstrate some best practices, featuring agencies that have really done a good job of making telework work. We are holding seminars and conferences where we bring together both the supervisor

and the employee so that individual stories can be told so that supervisors and managers throughout the Government will understand that these programs and this particular initiative is in fact

helpful.

Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. Let me take it one step further.

There’s a new report prepared by the National Academy of Public

Administration at the request of the Federal Chief Information

Counsel, and it portrays the government as lagging behind the private sector in treatment of high-tech workers. I mean this is not

just about accomplishing the mission in productivity. This is about

allowing employees the flexibility where they don’t have to come in

in traffic and they can make their child’s play or they can make

a doctor’s appointment.

It is a huge retention issue, in my judgment. It has been a congressional priority. Mr. Wolf has put these items in the appropriations every year. It seems to me not fault, but it is not an executive

branch priority. As a result, we have these centers out there, we’ve

heard the testimony, that are vacant or just not being utilized to

their capacity when they ought to be teeming with their people,

and there are employees who want to use it but they are either not

getting the encouragement or the permission or whatever and there

ought to be a natural—this is seems like such a natural.

Mr. COHEN. We agree and we are committed to making this work

if at all possible.

Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. Thank you for yielding. Mr. Moran.

Mr. MORAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. When we have touched

on the problems, the feedback that we get here is consistent with

what has been raised. When I ask managers, the first thing they

cite is that there they’re afraid that you pay double rent for somebody to work in the telecommuting center and downtown, that at

some point—if they try to save money by reducing that overhead

cost for space, that at some point that telecommuting center is

going to close down and then they don’t have enough space for

their employers. So there’s some disincentive from management to

take that risk of relying upon the perpetuation of a telecommuting

center.

How many days do you have to telecommute to be considered a

telecommuter, because most all of them spend at least 1 and sometimes 2 or 3 days a week in DC and the other 2 at a telecommuting

center. How do you define a telecommuter?

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Mr. COHEN. We would define the telecommuter as one who is

available for telecommuting at least 1 day a week or more. At least

1 day a week, yes, sir.

Mr. MORAN. So you have to have a certain critical mass to share

those facilities and if that 1 day a week is a Monday or Friday, and

I wouldn’t be surprised if it is not generally a Monday or Friday

that we are talking about, then we are going to have—it may be

full 1 day a week, they may choose the same day, and then the rest

of the time it may very well be empty. Is that a problem?

Let me ask Mr. Bibb.

Mr. BIBB. I think Mr. Lindsey made some reference to the problem of a manager managing a telework force. It does take some

planning so you don’t have everybody out on Monday or Friday. So

far the double cost is a problem for management. We have found

in my own experience, in my own office, where over half my people

telework, that—and we are not atypical of teleworking organizations—that when people are teleworking once a pay period, twice

a pay period, you really don’t pick up any space savings back in

the home office. In my own office I have told my own people let’s

talk about teleworking 3 days a week and in return we are going

to expect you to give up or share space, and to my surprise I’m getting considerable interest in that. I think, you know, if we reach

the point where we do begin to get some space sharing then it becomes more economically viable, although I will say I think if people think hard about these retention issues and the competitiveness of the Federal Government to win people to come to work for

the Federal Government and then keep them, the dollars for space

may not be as significant as we think they are.

Mr. MORAN. You have to report, is it April 2nd or April 23rd? It

is next month anyways. You have to have a report and it is not

that you have a prerogative, it is mandatory that you have to have

a plan for incorporating 25 percent of the agencies’ work force into

a telecommuting plan. Do you think you’re going to meet that required objective, Mr. Cohen?

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Moran, if you’re referring to the report itself, of

course we will. We are compiling all of this data now from all of

the Federal agencies. The agencies are due to report to us in April

on the establishment of their particular policies, how many people

they have teleworking, what barriers there may be to teleworking,

and how in fact we can deal with them. We are committed to looking over those policies and dealing with them and if there are

changes that are necessary to dealing with the agencies in terms

of making those changes. We will of course be reporting to the Congress on the results.

Mr. MORAN. Well, I think Mr. Wolf is the one that put that language into the Transportation bill. I think he wants to go beyond

the report. He wants your plan for how you’re going to make it

work. But we’ll let him hold your feet to the fire. I don’t know, I

don’t know that we can, we can really ask the kinds of questions

that need to be asked until we get that report and see the specific

problems.

Clearly, as Chairman Davis has said, it is a cultural, an attitudinal problem, and it is in the private sector. We are hearing AT&T

does a good job, but I don’t know that they are typical and I know

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that most managers have a lot of reluctance to do this, but I think

that the situation with regard to physical disabilities is particularly

compelling. That makes so much sense and it is clearly a cost savings as well.

Do you think that we have enough telecommuting centers, would

you suggest that we look for more space, or do you think that what

we have now is sufficient until we change the corporate, the cultural attitude?

Mr. BIBB. Well, I think what we are going to recommend to our

incoming Administrator is that we take a look at what the impact

of this new law is on usage. I think that would be a prudent thing

before we think about do we have enough or not. I think that’s

going to be the proof in the pudding.

Mr. MORAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. WOLF. Would the gentleman yield? But it really doesn’t impact on usage. This is the law and we didn’t put civil penalties in

or criminal penalties, but it is the law and my recommendation is

that at the end of the year the agencies that are not complying

ought to be held accountable. The agencies that come before the

subcommittee that I’m the chairman of, we are going to look at it

with regard to their budget and the same with regard to GSA and

the Treasury bill. So it is really the law. Everything that most of

you have said have all been, the charge will be, the intent will be.

It is actually the law. It is the law of the land. A lot of things are,

and we are obligated and duty bound to do them even if we don’t

like to do them, and so it is not, you know, we are going to see

what kind of impact.

And, GSA, with all due respect, I don’t believe that you have

done that great a job. I have had citizens from my congressional

district who have come to my town meetings who say I want to use

the telework center and GSA won’t allow me to use them. Y’all

really have not gotten behind it. Maybe in your office you’re doing

it but overall. Every Federal employee should be surveyed. Do you

have a Web page on this, does GSA have a Web page whereby any

manager who wants to allow their people to telework can go on the

Web page? Does every agency have a Web page? Does OPM have

a Web page, so if I’m a manager I can go to it or if I’m an employee? But it is not just to see what the impact is. It is the law

and it is 25 percent of those who are eligible, 50 percent the following year, 75 percent the following year and 100 percent the other

year.

We will never be able to deal with traffic congestion in this region until we get with that program and do it. It also—you talk

about space. This is not a space issue. If we are only to look at it

from a green eyeshade space issue, we will never be successful. As

the AT&T guy said, the first teleworker in the group is an oddity

and has a difficult time succeeding. When half the people in that

work group are working from home, the communication patterns

change and the teleworker is no longer an unusual event.

The reason they’re empty is because the agencies have not really

participated and the definition of eligibility has been very, very

narrow. Now, in all fairness, the telework centers should be packed

because there won’t be enough people that can fill this thing, but

that’s almost like black and white television. If you went out and

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bought a television today, you wouldn’t buy a black and white. You

may even buy a digital. This is digital. We’ve got to move beyond

it, but I think they ought to stay open for a number of years. You

ought to be encouraging people to use them.

When the mixing bowl takes place, when the Woodrow Wilson

Bridge construction takes place, you will literally have a difficult

time getting from south of there up into the area. But it is not an

impact. It is the law, and otherwise you all will be in violation of

the law. I don’t know what—and I am going to ask Attorney General Ashcroft, what is the impact of when agencies are violating the

law. Maybe we just ignore the law or do we do something, and I

think OPM has to make it clear. This is not a recommendation. It

is the law of the land and, quite frankly, we are going to ask in

the report to find out are the agencies really defining eligibility in

a fair way or do they just say, OK, we’ve got two people eligible

and one’s teleworking, so we are 50 percent, so we are beyond, or

are they really putting their heart and soul into it.

Nineteen million people in America telework. AT&T does it.

Nortel does it. Mr. Davis is right, you talk about retention, you talk

about recruitment. This is retention, recruitment, productivity. The

productivity of people who telework is as high and sometimes—we

don’t like to say it—higher than somebody who is not. Give a mom

the opportunity, and telework is not only just 1 day a week. It may

be a half a day. You may come in in the morning and leave at 2

o’clock and finish the day at home. You’re out of the traffic and

you’re home when your kids come home from school. But it is the

law, and it is just not 1 day a week. It is many other difficult— and for people who have a difficult time, handicaps and others,

recuperating from a heart attack, going through difficult times.

So I think you’re really going to have to do it. I have written all

the Cabinet officials. Only one has answered. Only one has answered and so—but it is the law.

Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. If the gentleman would further

yield just for a minute.

Mr. MORAN. I certainly would.

Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. I think Mr. Wolf is right. It really

comes down to priorities. You get hit with a lot of different requirements from government in terms of things that agencies have to

do in sorting it out, and you know in the scheme of things, this has

not been given the political push probably it needs to from this

body, where they have recognized that there are rewards and punishments for not moving it along, but I think it is the right public

policy. It is the public policy of the future. We have seen it adopted

in the private sector on a consistent basis.

We are facing a time at the Federal Government level now when

some of our top technology employees are at retirement age. What

are we going to do to replace them? You can’t offer them stock options, can’t give them bonuses under civil service rules. Telecommuting is a great incentive for people who are concerned about

lifestyle, but I can tell you, an hour commute from Woodbridge

isn’t, and that is the kind of issues that the government needs to

start assessing and make a higher priority, and I recognize that

you have a lot of rules and regulations you have to comply with,

and this is just another one. Well, it is not just another one, as Mr.

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Wolf said, and I think that’s what we are trying to emphasize here,

and let me yield now to the gentlelady.

Mr. MORAN. Mr. Chairman, I have to go to a Budget Committee

meeting, but again I want to thank you very, very much for having

this hearing.

Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. Mrs. Davis.

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Ms. Alcott, I think you said in your testimony that some of the

telecommuting centers are like 25 percent and I think the highest

you said was 54 percent.

Ms. ALCOTT. The highest is 85 percent. The average is 54 percent.

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. Given the fact that two of those

are in my district, some of the concern is the ADA, the OSHA,

Workmen’s Compensation and that sort of thing. How is that handled in the telecenter?

Ms. ALCOTT. The telework centers are really treated simply as an

extension of their normal workplace. The telecommuting centers

are all ADA compliant. We are compliant with OSHA regulations

because they are currently under a GSA lease. So we are bound by

all of the same laws and regulations that the Federal workplace is

bound by and we must comply with them.

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. So it is an extension of the actual workplace then. I don’t know who said it was a problem, but

why would it be a concern then? Why would it not just filter on

down from the workplace to the telecommuting center, telework

center? Why would that be a problem to the employer? I don’t know

who said it, but whoever wants to answer.

Mr. BIBB. What exactly would be the problem for the employer?

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. Someone said the ADA was a

problem.

Mr. ALLENBY. That was—in looking at it as an opportunity. I

think that, among other things, telework makes age and disability

transparent because what you’re interested in when you get to

telework is knowledge and that knowledge is not just captured in

the people that you have working immediately in your facility.

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. It is not a negative; it is a positive then?

Mr. ALLENBY. Absolutely it is a positive then, and I think also

there was a mention of people who retire from the Federal Government. I wonder how many of those people would be willing to

telework on a part-time basis to maintain the knowledge structure

of the Federal Government, to maintain the transition.

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. The other concern I think I

heard about teleworking was—I’m not sure where I heard it—securing the information on the computers, I guess. How is that handled in the telework centers?

Ms. ALCOTT. In the telework centers it is incumbent upon the

user or the employee to make sure that they are following the necessary safeguards. The centers all have local area networks, and as

part of the local area networks the users are given a subdirectory

on the server that only they are privy to along with the network

administrator at the site. So rather than storing information on the

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hard drive of the PC, it is incumbent upon the user to store the

information in their subdirectory on the server.

On a couple of different other levels all of the networks do have

user names and passwords that are required when you log in, and

the agencies themselves have security in place in either their Web

access or their dial-up access. So I would say that most of the agencies that we serve have multiple layers of security and in fact that

is sort of a minor stumbling block. For some people they have

about seven or eight different user names or passwords that they

have to remember, so there’s lots and lots of security in place.

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. Thank you. I had one other

question if I can figure out where I wrote it. I will have to yield,

Mr. Chairman, because I don’t know where I wrote it down.

Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. Thank you very much. Mr. Horn.

Mr. HORN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’ve been fascinated by the

possibility here of different types of telecommuting and yours is

very clear, Ms. Alcott, because you have got several group presentations there and people can perhaps learn something from the

other. I’m interested in those that do it in the home because the

GSA and the OPM and the Railroad administration, do you permit

them then to take particular computers, fax, etc., and how do you

check the work? Do you just, does she or he use a fax to say here’s

what we are working on and if the supervisor says, gee, we ought

to add something to that can you fax it back? Is that a problem at

all for the agencies?

Mr. COHEN. A fax would be one possibility. Of course another is

just the computer itself, electronically sending the files and the

messages back and forth and that works very, very well. There

would be a variety of ways that we would support our own employees. We would provide the equipment, the computer, the fax, the

phone line, if that in fact is necessary and desirable. Sometimes the

individual has his or her own computer. We would provide whatever the software might be that would be appropriate. So there are

a variety of ways of providing the equipment and also of course in

making sure that the work is done and it is done the way it ought

to be done.

Mr. HORN. What about the supervision? Do your supervisors get

a little bit nervous or what?

Mr. COHEN. Well, that’s really at the heart of some of the problems we are discussing today and we’ve been discussing for quite

some time. This is a different way of managing work. And I suspect

we know from all of the research that has been done, a very heavy

percentage of our supervisors and managers are simply not comfortable with this different way of doing work. They haven’t experienced it in the past. They don’t know that in fact it can work well.

It is an educational effort, as we’ve described before, and it is one

that is absolutely essential but that’s really at the heart of it.

When an individual enters into an agreement with the supervisor,

what we want to see is a clearly spelled out expectation on the part

of the supervisor and on the part of the employee so they both

know what it is that’s expected of them, and the supervisor of

course is then able to ensure that the work that’s expected is done.

But that really is at the heart. It is trying to make the supervisor

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and the manager comfortable with this different way of managing

the work force.

Mr. HORN. It seems to me we would get a lot of space that could

be used by various agencies. With all due respect to GSA, I have

great respect for GSA, but I must say some of the amortization of

some of the buildings are really out of sight and an agency could

save a lot of its lease rent, whatever it is called, money and if people did use it in their own homes and got the job done and they

wouldn’t—they at least have a parking place in their home and

when it’s downtown Washington, or Long Beach, CA, it is tough,

really tough to find parking.

And the gentleman from Virginia is certainly right on this. This

is a law and there ought to be a lot more work going ahead on this.

Now can OPM encourage that with the people? Do you have training courses and everything else on being good supervisors, good administrators, all the rest of it?

Mr. COHEN. Exactly. We have developed telecommuting kits.

We’ve developed guidelines, or guidance if you will. We are in the

process of developing and working with the contractors to develop

distance learning modules. We have seminars, conferences and the

like. It is a major effort. It is also an effort that frankly we can’t

do by ourselves. It is one that the agencies will have to be involved

with. We’ll provide materials, we will provide guidance, but we

have to expect that the agencies will pick up on these materials

and do a lot of the training of their own supervisors and managers.

We are undergoing within our own agency a significant initiative.

We’ve briefed our executive staff. We are holding a session with all

of our supervisors and managers. We are doing the same thing

with all of our employees. We’ve changed our own telecommuting

policies, and we are making it quite clear within our own agency

that this is really what’s expected and that we are expecting to see

significant increases in the numbers of individuals who are telecommuting. I think, frankly, that if we got the type of support that

we are talking about in all agencies we’d see some of the dramatic

changes that this committee wants to see.

Mr. HORN. Any comment on this, Mr. Bibb, in terms of the supervision and all?

Mr. BIBB. I think a number of things Mr. Cohen has said are correct. GSA does allow people to work at home in addition to telecenters, and in fact the vast majority of our people do work at home,

and in the private sector that’s been the same experience. Yes,

there’s a reluctance on the part of supervisors. We have found,

though, that when you measure by results rather than whether

standing over someone’s desk and seeing whether they’re actually

working on something, it is the right way to manage anyhow,

whether you’re in the office or someone’s not even anywhere close.

So you hold the employee accountable for the results, and I do not

see a problem with it.

I do think it is a culture change and people are used to being onsite and checking to see who’s doing what, but I think ultimately

what you produce and the job you get done is what counts.

Mr. HORN. Mr. Lindsey, do you want to add to that?

Mr. LINDSEY. Yes, Mr. Horn, I’d like to add a couple of things

that I think are important. One is dealing with the motivation of

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the supervisors. We have a pattern of having performance agreements inside the agency that carry our priorities all the way down

and every supervisor is handling telecommuting as one of the priorities in his performance documents. So there’s a motivator there

that makes clear from the top of the agency down that this is expected to be handled well.

A second one that’s important that’s kind of facilitative, to make

this work, you were talking about the technical systems a minute

ago, computer systems and communications. This is very difficult.

It’s been very hard for many years to keep computer systems current and to develop them to the state that we need them. For us

it is critical to have a wide area network that is very much up to

date and very effective so that among employees who are out in the

field someplace and who are telecommuting or otherwise gone, we

can share a long and complex document effectively, and have the

same software at each end, to make it work smoothly: For example,

a supervisor and an employee can exchange a large document, have

the supervisor review it, show the commentary on the document

and fire it back to the employee at the distant locale. That can

work well, but we really have to make the investment to make it

happen, and it is critical that we do so.

Mr. HORN. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, very interesting.

Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. Thank you very much. Mrs.

Morella.

Mrs. MORELLA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I very much value

having heard the panel and the whole concept of this hearing. I

think it is very important that we find out what the difficulties are

that you’re facing and how you have to move ahead with what Mr.

Wolf stated. There is no choice and I think it is going to help all

of us.

I’m curious, we talk a lot about the telework centers. How do you

decide, Mr. Bibb, how do you decide where they will be located?

Mr. BIBB. We have tried to place them geographically around the

metropolitan area where there are concentrations of Federal employees. In addition, the Congress has helped us with some of those

decisions by giving us some direction on where some of those centers should go. But it is primarily where the concentration of Federal employees are in outlying areas.

Mrs. MORELLA. Maybe I could give you some direction.

Mr. BIBB. Sometimes in law.

Mrs. MORELLA. Well, I think the 8th district in Maryland has an

awful lot of Federal employees. I think we have prime locations for

a telework center. So can we have that be part of your personal

records?

Mr. BIBB. I have made a note.

Mrs. MORELLA. Thank you. With regard to—and of course I hear

about the fact that they’re not utilized adequately and you’ve got

someone—people who are trying to get into them, and yet 54 percent usage or even less than that in some instances. So a lot has

to be done with those, too. But quite seriously, I was rather surprised to note that District 8 didn’t have a telecenter, a telework

center yet.

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I want to ask you about whether or not you have pursued the

top, the laptop docking station. You know, the laptop is there and

employees can check it out if they are going to have their day

working at the telework center or at home.

Mr. BIBB. It is a great solution. It keeps you from having to have

a complete computer.

Mrs. MORELLA. You haven’t done anything with it?

Mr. BIBB. No, we have. We are using that. We see more and

more agencies using those as laptops get better, as docking stations

get better, as the communications links improve. When you work

at home, unless you have broadband it is very hard to be like in

the office. But docking stations and laptops are a great idea. One

machine: you plug it in at the office or you plug it in at home.

Mrs. MORELLA. So where are they used; do you know?

Mr. BIBB. I don’t have a governmentwide count. I use them in

my own organization in GSA. We have them within my own office.

We intend to move as soon as we can to an entirely laptop docking

station environment, as soon as we’ve amortized the cost of some

of the equipment. We have and we’ll move right on it.

Mrs. MORELLA. That might be one of the suggestions also that’s

offered to agencies, too, that they might look into. That brings up

the issue of all the security, and I know there’s been some reference to that. Does that present tremendous challenge to make

sure there is adequate security?

Mr. BIBB. I would just say, and Mr. Cohen may want to add or

any other panelist, it enters into the equation for a high security

job. For some jobs it is not a big factor at all. Others where you’re

dealing with government contracts, etc., and information might get

out, you have to be careful with it. But those things can be overcome with encryption, etc., and I think we are getting better and

better at it.

Mrs. MORELLA. And I would hope that there’s somebody in every

agency that would be in charge of that.

Mr. BIBB. I would say each agency’s CIO, Chief Information Officer, would be, yes.

Mr. COHEN. And I would agree. There are circumstances when,

for security considerations, telecommuting does have a different

challenge, but it would be the CIO’s office that would be the one

that would deal with those issues.

Mrs. MORELLA. I wonder how the private sector does that, too.

I might ask AT&T what they do with regard to preserving the adequate security.

Mr. ALLENBY. It is a very good question. There’s really two elements to security, I think, that are important to consider. The first

is how to maintain security on the Intranet and associated systems,

and the second is how to maintain control over the intellectual

property of the agency or of the company. Those are related issues

and they point, I think, to a more fundamental question, which is

how to structure the infrastructure of the company for the 21st

century as opposed to the 19th. It is not just a security issue as

much as it is how do we take all of our e-enabled systems, our

Intranet systems, our electronic systems, and move them to an environment where location and time are no longer critical.

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I had an excellent worker a couple of years ago who liked to

spend his time over in the Netherlands and he would file reports

from cafes in the Netherlands. How do you maintain control of security when that’s the kind of pattern that you’re looking at? I

think probably that the answers given up until now I would agree

with. I think it is an issue that clearly needs attention, but I don’t

think that in any sense of the word it is a show stopper. We just

need to continue to maintain vigilance, particularly over the structure of the internal networks.

Mrs. MORELLA. Do you all have problems getting people who are

trained, adequately trained to be able to be involved with the security? Is that a problem that any of you know about?

Mr. ALLENBY. That’s a significant problem, I think, across private industry as well as the Government. It is a very difficult area.

It is often beyond the cutting edge and the people trying to breach

security are sometimes as adept as the people trying to stop them.

In addition, frankly there’s a lot of sloppiness in systems. So you

need to be careful how your system connects with other people’s

systems to make sure that you don’t inherit the sloppiness.

Mrs. MORELLA. Did you want to comment on that, Mr. Cohen?

Mr. COHEN. I would agree. Obviously security is for all of us a

very significant issue. But I can only really speak for our own

agency and the efforts that we take to assure that there aren’t

breaches and the like. I’m not in a position to comment on what

is happening in other agencies in this area.

Mrs. MORELLA. Just as we continue to work on the telework programs, I think it is a very important facet that should always be

considered.

Thank you very much. Thank you, Madam Chairman.

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS OF VIRGINIA [presiding]. Thank you. Mr.

Wolf.

Mr. WOLF. Thank you very much. It’s been a good hearing. I appreciate the committee holding it. It gives us kind of a baseline to

operate from.

Just a couple of really fast thoughts. One, I am pleased that FRA

is doing a good job, since as chairman of the Transportation Appropriations, it is good to see that and I appreciate that, and please

take it back to the people at FRA that I’m glad that you’re leading

the way.

Second, I believe that you ought to consider bringing AT&T—I

did not hear your testimony but I read it all. You ought to bring

AT&T before all the human resources people in the government. I

mean, they have done an outstanding job. If only half of what they

have done is accurate, they have done an outstanding job, and I

know Alice Perelly from AT&T. You all have really led the way. I’m

going to have to change my speeches. I used to say 22 percent of

your people were doing it. Here you’re far beyond that. I was reading some old data. I think they ought to be brought in and put a

half a day for all of the personnel officers in the Federal Government, particularly here in the Washington, DC area, but as you

bring them in from around the country, and maybe you ought to

just contract out with them and ask them to help you design a program because there’s no sense in reinventing the wheel.

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Last, I think you need a telework czar, perhaps for the government, but maybe for every agency. The reason I’m so interested in

this, one, we are in gridlock in the region. We are the second most

congested region in the Nation. The George Mason study shows

that for every 1 percent of the people we get to take out of their

cars, we reduce traffic congestion by 3 percent. Three percent, just

3 percent, AT&T is well beyond that, just 3 percent. Reduce traffic

congestion by 10 percent. A survey of the traffic on Friday mornings, you know how Friday is lighter than any other day, Friday

mornings is what they call the Friday effect. Friday traffic is down

to 4; 4.5 percent on Monday, Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday.

If we got 3 percent more to telework, we get beyond the Friday effect. We double the Friday effect, if you will, the goodness of it.

Second, it gives people control over their own lives. I had a person in my office the other day, a Federal employee, leaves his

house at 5 a.m., gets home about 7 p.m. We cannot continue to

have families living in conditions that people are on the road for

an hour to an hour and a half each way. Now, you can do that for

2 or 3 days a week, but you can’t do it 5 days a week and be a

mom or a dad. You just can’t do that. Physically you can’t do it.

You can rationalize you have quality time but no quantity time,

but if there’s no quantity there’s no quality. Families are unraveling, and so in this area—also, if you read the AT&T testimony it

deals with sprawl. It deals with growth and that’s been an issue

that everyone has been concerned about.

So from productivity, you maintain the bold statement in one of

your pages here that the performance is actually higher, higher.

Well, if it is higher, let’s say it is not higher, it is as high, so there’s

almost no reason. So I think you really need to have a czar or a

person who’s responsible. If you believe the AT&T, as it gets going

it will then take off on its own.

We had the same resistance. We did onsite child care. We had

every reason why it couldn’t happen. We asked you to do leave

sharing. You told us you couldn’t do leave sharing. I put an amendment and now leave sharing is the rule. We had job sharing.

Couldn’t share the same jobs. Now there is just a resistance, a resistance, and I maintain that the people would like to have that opportunity, and I’m constantly hearing, and I believe it to be true,

that the recruitment and the retention in the number of senior people who will be leaving in the next 5 years is so overwhelming,

maybe the Bush administration ought to have a Hoover Commission to look at the whole issue of how we retain and recruit good

people to come in and work in government. Government service is

important. It is really important. I mean whether it be, you know,

the NIH or whether it be wherever the case may be, who you have

makes all the difference. Personnel is policy and so we need the

very best. This is a major, major tool.

So I think that OPM—is OPM close to appointing somebody to

be the Administrator of OPM?

Mr. COHEN. Yes, sir. President Bush has indicated his intent to

nominate an individual yesterday, Mrs. Kay Coles James.

Mr. WOLF. Well, she’s an outstanding person. I know her very,

very well. She was chairman of the national gambling commission

we established and really—worked at HEW or——

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Mr. COHEN. HHS.

Mr. WOLF. It was HEW when my wife worked there, but HHS

now. If you could pass the word when she’s confirmed or whatever,

we’d like to sit down with her, but I think OPM is either going to

have to lead on this and maybe force these other agencies or the

other agencies do the same thing agencywide, and you know how

you all intimidate people with your thermometer about how many

people are giving to the UGF and the combined fund. You might

do the same thing with regard to how we are doing with regard to

telework. I think the employees will really grab on, the productivity

will be higher. I think you ought to get AT&T and some of the

other companies that are really doing it to come in and show you

that it is not a danger. It is really a good, good thing.

I want to thank the committee for having the hearing.

Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA [presiding]. Thank you, Mr. Wolf,

and thank you for your leadership on this issue. I’ll just add, Mrs.

James was my school board appointee when I was chairman of the

county board. We used to appoint the school board members in

Fairfax, unfortunately. So I look forward to working with her.

A couple of things from the AT&T testimony that stand out and

I think complement what Representative Wolf just said. One is

that among the AT&T teleworkers who have been offered other

jobs, about two-thirds reported giving up an AT&T telework environment was a factor in their decision to remain with the company.

So from a government retention point of view, I mean I think that’s

something we really need to look at because we are competing with

a very aggressive private sector here, particularly in the Washington region, in some of these areas.

And second, the other fact noted is one of the most surprising

statistics developed, is that virtual office managers are more likely

to be rated in the very highest performance management category

as measured by the formal managerial appraisal than their office

bound peers.

And so we know at least in the private sector it works, and it

works well, and we are just trying to bring some of the devices we

see working around the globe in other areas to government.

Let me ask Mr. Young a couple of questions. Several constituents

have told me that Federal contractors find the current Federal

Government attitude toward telework is an impediment to their

fulfillment of government contracts. I’ve drafted a bill that would

to the maximum extent possible prohibit the government from restricting employees on a specific work site. In your personal and

professional experience, have you found that such a bill might be

helpful?

Mr. YOUNG. Oh, absolutely, sir. My experience over the last three

jobs I’ve had in the last 10 years, I come in and as a reasonable

accommodation I ask about being able to work from home part of

the time. Typically what happens is as I start to show up at the

office half the time and work half the time at home, many of my

colleagues will say how do you do that, what’s going on, gee, I’d

really like to do that, and as soon as they go to their supervisors,

they run into the same issues that we’ve heard here before: I don’t

know how to manage that. I want to see your face in here bright

and early in the morning. I want to see you doing things, being acVerDate 11-MAY-2000 10:38 May 18, 2001 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00105 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\DOCS\72126.TXT HGOVREF1 PsN: HGOVREF1
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tive. I don’t know how to manage my objectives. I don’t know how

to give you these tasks, but then I measure when you get back to

me with that task accomplished. So it is the same kind of fear. It

is the same kind of lack of knowledge about how to manage the

employee when you’re not in a face-to-face relationship.

Additionally, a lot of managers aren’t comfortable with the technology that many teleworkers use almost by instinct. There are

ways to communicate with your supervisor that don’t mean eyeballto-eyeball kinds of interaction.

Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. Is there a generation gap in some

of this you think?

Mr. YOUNG. Yeah, I’m certain there is, but it is more of I’m comfortable with technology, I’m doing things and my boss has a black

and white TV back at the homestead and, you know, they get four

channels and they’re happy with that. The rest of us go on HDTV

with a connection with a satellite, and you know surfing through

1,000 channels, not at work I should add, but you know very comfortable with how technology works and working within the technology.

Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. Thank you.

Ms. Alcott, I was intrigued by your testimony in terms of utilization. You talk to these people every day that use this.

Ms. ALCOTT. Yes.

Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. What are the one or two things we

can really do that—they’d like to be doing this more, wouldn’t they,

the people?

Ms. ALCOTT. Absolutely. I just yesterday spoke with a DOD employee who used to work in Crystal City, and then NAVSEA moved

down to the Navy Yard, and he was talking about how much worse

his commute is. And he currently is only allowed to telecommute

1 day per week, and he would very much love to telecommute more

than 1 day per week. So I think that—— Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. He would do it 4 or 5 days if he

could?

Ms. ALCOTT. Oh, yeah. Encouraging an increase in the number

of days per week that employees are allowed to telecommute would

be a great benefit to both the agency and the employee because, as

has been discussed, when one person does it 1 day a week it is an

anomaly. When more than one person does it more than 1 day a

week, it becomes part of the culture.

Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. This may surprise some of you, but

they are looking at local ordinances in jurisdictions around Washington that mandate telecommuting in private companies. Because

of your Clean Air Act attainment standard, you’ve got to get people

off the road, not just traffic related now, it is air relate d, and

they’re putting it on private companies and the companies grumble

a little bit, but they’re complying with it, and here we are at the

Federal level who mandates these laws to the locality and what are

we doing about it? We are talking about it.

Ms. ALCOTT. It is interesting to note that the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments did some measurements on emissions and they found that teleworking by great degrees was the

largest contributor to the reduction of emissions in all of the transportation mitigation measures.

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Mr. TOM DAVIS OF VIRGINIA. We’ve got to get some environmentalists up here next time testifying, too. But I think we all understand and agree that we need to make this work, that there are

just a lot of good can come out of this, there are a lot of people who

can do their job as well or better telecommuting, gets them off the

road, helps us maybe recruit some people and we will retain some

people in government that we are currently not doing if we do this

right. There’s a fear of doing it wrong, of letting some people say, ‘‘Yeah, I’m at the telecommunications center and they’re on the

fourth tee.’’ I understand the fear. But as we have seen with the experience

of AT&T and other companies that have tried this, the good really

outweighs the bad if it is done appropriately. I think the key is just

priorities. You have got to make it a priority, and my sympathy is

to government managers who get just inundated with additional

rules and regulations from Congress, from the executive branch

telling them to do all this different, and it just becomes an item

on a punch list.

But we are here today, and Mr. Wolf has made it clear, it is a

part of the appropriations process, and that’s CJS, that’s a lot of

agencies right there that they’re going to be held accountable, and

this is the time where with the appropriate leadership we can

make a big difference in these areas by fostering more telecommuting.

Let me ask Mrs. Davis, do you have any other questions? I could

prolong this, but I want to get everybody back. It is not Friday, is

it, it is only Thursday so I want the make sure we get everything

else. Anything else anybody wants to add for the record out here?

Maybe you want to rebut something we said or react in any way.

If not, let me just say I want to take a moment to thank everybody for attending our subcommittee’s first hearing. I want to

thank the witnesses and I want to thank Congressman Turner,

Congressman Wolf, other Members for participating. Mrs. Davis,

thank you for being here, and thank you for bringing us this witness from Fredericksburg. I think she added a lot of the colloquy

today. I want to thank my staff for organizing this. I think it’s been

a very, very productive hearing.

I’m going to enter into the record the briefing memo that was

distributed to subcommittee members.

We will hold the record open for 2 weeks from this day for anybody who might want to forward additional submissions for possible inclusion, and these proceedings are closed.

[Whereupon, at 4:10 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]

[Additional information submitted for the hearing record follows:]

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