The Government Needs to Get Back to Work

Before COVID-19 shut down our economy and drove millions of Americans to work from home, those who had to call a federal agency for assistance may have experienced a reasonable wait time. Agencies like the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Social Security Administration, the Small Business Administration, or the Department of Veterans Affairs have often felt slow to respond, but the wait was understandable considering the volume of people looking for help at any given time. Sadly, as a result of reduced staff post-COVID, a backlog of cases has left wait times for some federal agencies at a once unfathomable high.

As of December 23, 2021, the IRS reported a backlog of 6 million tax returns and 2.3 million amended tax returns. The result is devastating for small businesses who have applied for emergency loans only to be caught in bureaucratic limbo for two years. The situation deteriorated to the point that the IRS's Taxpayer Advocate Service will not accept cases solely involving amended tax returns, thereby leaving millions of Americans without the help their taxes pay for.

As agencies reduce in-person staff numbers, Americans are seeing that not every job can be done remotely, and many times, remote work is simply ineffective. I support the health of our nation's civil servants and with the use of vaccinations, boosters, and masking, the federal workforce must get back to in-person work. Simply put, an organization supported by taxpayer dollars must be accountable to the taxpayer.

That is why my colleagues in the House of Representatives and I sent a bipartisan letter to Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, who oversees the IRS, laying out a series of reasonable steps that should be taken to reduce this backlog and relieve the millions of Americans who are left frustrated and needing help. Read the full letter here.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is facing similar issues. To prove military service and qualify for earned benefits, many veterans must request records from the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC). Unfortunately, many of our veterans cannot access the documents and verifications required in a timely manner. A standard, pre-COVID record request typically took one month to complete, but the NPRC timeline for that request is now 18 months. Being forced to wait a year-and-a-half for documents that shouldn't take more than one month to find and mail is ridiculous. The American people and our nation's heroes deserve better.

My colleagues and I sent a letter to the National Archives and Records Administration, which oversees the NPRC, demanding the agency bring back the NPRC staff to full capacity to immediately process the backlog of requests. I also co-sponsored H.R. 3710, the RECORDS Act, which would codify the requirement that the NPRC return to full staffing and process the records backlog. Our nation's heroes should not be denied access to their essential records and fall victim to bureaucratic red tape simply because bureaucrats don't want to do what Americans across the country do every day: go to work.

It is an honor to represent you and the Fourth District of Arkansas. If you or someone you know is having trouble with the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Social Security Administration, or any other federal agency, please visit my website at westerman.house.gov to contact my office.