Date: 2002-03-20
Speaker: TOM DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Virginia

Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of the open rule for H.R. 3924. the Freedom to Telecommute Act of 2002. I believe this is a noncontroversial bill. but I think it is one long overdue in this House. Telecommuting is something we ought to encourage. I want to thank the gentleman from California and the Committee on Rules for moving swiftly to bring this bill to the floor. Their efforts to ensure that we can vote on this important bill I think will expand opportunities for telecommuting. H.R. 3924 will prevent Federal agencies from restricting potential contractors from participating in the bidding process if they use telecommuters to fulfill the contract. Congress has passed bills over the last several years that actually direct Federal agencies to develop and promote telework programs. Unfortunately. the current acquisition policy sends the wrong message about the importance of telework in the modern workplace. Telework is a popular movement that has gained tremendous momentum over the last 25 years. Today. an estimated 19 million Americans telework. Employees are drawn to it because it offers improved quality of life. It increases morale. It generates greater productivity because there are fewer office distractions. 0l 1115 Telecommuting is a familyfriendly policy that accommodates employees wit h health problems or child care problems or elder care responsibilities. It also eases traffic congestion. and in this region that is very important. by getting motorists off the roads at key hours and allowing them to telecommute either from their home or from telecommuting work stations. And by easing traffic congestion. not only is it friendlier. and saves motorists time. but it helps the environment due to increased vehicle emissions. Our Subcommittee on Technology and Procurement Policy has held two hearings about telecommuting. We heard from both public and private sector witnesses about their efforts to develop and implement such programs in their organizations. Many of them have been very successful in employee retention. in employee recruitment and in productivity. The testimony revealed that telecommuting is often used as a human capital management initiative in the private sector and in a few Federal agencies. It allows employees greater flexibility in their work environment. and it enhances their quality of life. It is costly to recruit people. to hire people. to train new staff on a constant basis. If they are used strategically. telecommuting programs keep organizations competitive and are critical to maintaining continuity and efficiency in the workplace. Federal managers have been reluctant to embrace the concept because they would no longer be in a position to monitor employees directly. I submit. Mr. Speaker. this is the old model. That is the work model from the industrial era. Todays workers operate quite differently. The Federal managers have to move away from such outdated processoriented measures. We need to encourage the government to become a resultsdriven organization. to learn from the efficiencies that the private sector has produced. By allowing Federal agencies to contract with companies that employ telework initiatives. they are directly exposing them to the employees. I think this helps the Federal level to encourage our managers to use more of it. It helps to reverse negative managerial attitudes toward telecommuting in the Federal Government. But among contracting officers there has been reluctance to encourage bids from companies that utilize telecommuting. again. operating under the old concepts that if we are not there watching over an employee. somehow the work is not getting done. That is most often done with security concerns in mind. H.R. 3924 provides contracting officers with the necessary guidance for encouraging telecommuting among potential Federal contractors. An exception is made if the contracting officer certifies in writing that telecommuting would conflict with the needs of the agency. For example. this exception could apply if a contractor deals HIOO with classified or sensitive information. You do not want to let out information to some foreign Web site or information This will ensure that Federal marketplaces continue to be a competitive choice among contractors. H.R. 3924 would also prohibit agencies from issuing solicitations that would reduce the scoring of a potential contractors proposal if that contractor utilizes telecommuting. We ought to be encouraging it. not prohibiting it. I urge my colleagues to support the rule and the underlying bill. H.R. 3924.