Press Releases

WASHINGTON--Today, Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) reacted to subpoenaed documents received from Department of Labor (DOL) Acting Secretary Julie Su regarding the agency’s return-to-office action plan. For months, Acting Secretary Su failed to provide the Committee with a plan that Su’s own administration required. What’s worse, it appears DOL wasn’t taking return to work seriously because it was caving to union demands at the request of President Biden.

“It shouldn’t take a congressional subpoena for Acting Secretary Su to respond to Congress. Workers and job creators are expected to show up to work every day, yet DOL wasn’t forthcoming about its own telework policies. The Committee’s efforts to force a response from DOL is a reminder that the Committee will not back down in ensuring that government is accountable and transparent to the American taxpayer,” said Chairwoman Foxx. “Getting this short and pathetic excuse for an ‘action plan’ from DOL was just half the battle. Much of the language used in the documents provided to the Committee reveal the Biden administration’s willingness to put the wishes of government union bosses ahead of taxpayers and reaffirms just how deep the Biden administration is in the pocket of Big Labor. America’s workforce deserves better than part time bureaucrats at DOL.”

Background

October 18, 2021: Then-Committee on Education and Labor Republican Leader Foxx led a letter to then-Secretary of Labor Martin J. Walsh requesting information on DOL’s plans to re-open for in-person, on-site work.

December 21, 2021: Following DOL’s failure to provide a complete response to the October 18, 2021, letter, then-Republican Leader Foxx led a letter to Secretary Walsh again requesting information about DOL’s plans to re-open for in-person, on-site work.

January 12, 2023: Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairwoman Foxx sent a letter to DOL re-requesting responses to the October 18 and December 21, 2021, letters.

March 8, 2024: Chairwoman Foxx sent a letter to Acting Secretary Su requesting information about the agency’s extremely low utilization of in-person office space and failure to return to pre-pandemic attendance levels.

May 1, 2024: During the Committee’s annual hearing with Acting Secretary Su, Chairwoman Foxx signaled that she would serve a subpoena on Su if the agency did not provide a copy of its return-to-work action plan by May 6.

May 6, 2024: Chairwoman Foxx issued a subpoena for documents to Acting Secretary Su in response to her failure to provide DOL’s return-to-office action plan to the Committee.

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