WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Thursday, Rep. Michael Cloud (R-TX) participated in a hearing with the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Appropriations Subcommittee, which included witnesses Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Shalanda Young, and Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) Chair Jared Bernstein.

Rep. Cloud focused his questioning with Secretary Yellen on federal workforce practices and the Biden administration’s agenda impacting the United States’ economic influence in the world. Since the end of the Coronavirus pandemic, the Biden administration has been disturbingly slow in returning much of the federal workforce to in-person work. In fact, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently made public that they will be requiring 50% of their workforce to return to in-person work as of May 2024. Poor work attendance like this can cause tremendous delays in critical casework issues like passport problems, tax refunds, social security benefits, veterans’ benefits, and other problems. 

Rep. Cloud also addressed the Biden administration’s dangerous pattern of weakening the U.S. dollar, attacking our domestic oil and gas industry, and, ultimately, scaling back America’s economic influence in the world — a critical issue for American workers and national security. Cloud urged Secretary Yellen to consider the volatility of U.S. currency in spending policy.

Rep. Cloud released the following statement on the hearing:

“Constituents in my district have to show up to work every day, yet in the federal government — which should be working to serve the taxpayers who fund them — some agencies are barely requiring workers to show up half the time. That’s unacceptable. Veterans, seniors, or front-line workers who rely on their casework being resolved don’t have time to wait on remote workers who can’t show up. Taxpayers should not be forced to fund a government that does not work for them. 

I’ve also been deeply concerned about the ongoing weakening of the dollar and potential scaling back of the United States’ economic influence on the global stage, all in pursuit of Joe Biden’s vision for a ‘multipolar world’ — a world in which the United States is not the global leader. That is a recipe for America’s decline, not its success. While I’m pleased to hear the Treasury Secretary say she does not share that vision, my hope is that the Biden administration will listen to the American people and rapidly change course as to their spending policy. We cannot continue down our current economic trajectory.”

To watch Rep. Cloud’s portion of the hearing, click HERE.

###