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New legislation introduced by Republican lawmakers aims to end taxpayer funding of federal union activities within government offices. Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa and Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania presented the “Protecting Taxpayers’ Wallets Act of 2025,” which would require unions to compensate the government for resources used during union-related activities.

“Public money should be spent to benefit taxpayers, not bureaucrats,” Ernst said. “Every cent of Americans’ hard-earned money should be spent on them, not negotiating cushy benefits for federal employees. I am getting Washington back to work and ending the subsidies for federal unions.”

Data from the Office of Personnel Management reveals federal employees dedicated 2.6 million hours to union activities, equivalent to nearly three centuries of work time, resulting in a $135 million cost to taxpayers. Additionally, unions utilized taxpayer-funded office space and supplies worth at least $24 million.

Perry expressed his stance on the matter, stating, “Forcing the American Taxpayer to foot the bill for federal union organizing is outrageous and absurd. If federal employees and resources are going to be used for union tasks, the unions should foot the bill.”

The proposed legislation includes provisions preventing agency leaders from bypassing reimbursement requirements and implements penalties for union representatives who fail to monitor their union time and organizations that don’t compensate agencies for resources used.

This initiative follows Ernst’s previous legislative effort, the Taxpayer-Funded Union Time Transparency Act of 2024, which emerged after government unions resisted returning to office work. Ernst’s investigations into telework culminated in a comprehensive 60-page report released December 5th, detailing various telecommuting issues.

Her investigations uncovered several instances of union time abuse, including cases where an employee relocated to Florida to work in real estate while maintaining union time arrangements, and another who claimed union time while serving jail time for a DUI offense.

Earlier probes by Ernst highlighted concerns regarding locality pay adjustments for remote workers. In an August 2023 letter to multiple government agencies, she referenced an incident where a VA employee attended a staff meeting from their bathtub.

Another case involved a USAID employee receiving Washington, D.C. locality pay despite residing permanently in Florida. The employee retired before the investigation concluded, according to documentation from the USAID inspector general’s office dated April 30.

The Department of Government Efficiency Co-Chairman Elon Musk subsequently announced plans to dissolve USAID on February 3.