In a move that has raised eyebrows among conservatives, President Joe Biden's administration has dismantled a federal union accountability website, despite previous assurances that the site was merely undergoing improvements.
The website, which was designed to track unions' "official time," has been a crucial tool for ensuring transparency and accountability in the use of taxpayer funds for union activities.
According to The Daily Signal, the website was maintained by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and was used to monitor the practice of "official time." This federally protected practice allows federal employees to engage in certain union activities while being paid by the federal government, essentially using taxpayer money. The OPM's public accountability site was instrumental in preventing the abuse of this provision by tracking how the time was utilized.
Max Nelsen, a labor policy expert at the Freedom Foundation, expressed his concerns about the situation. "Federal union executives have taken advantage of the four years under the Biden administration, which adopted a 'whole of government' approach towards promoting and entrenching unions in the federal bureaucracy, to attempt to insulate themselves from a second Trump term," Nelsen told the Center Square.
The Biden administration had initially removed the accountability website with the promise of enhancing its online presence. In 2023, an OPM spokesperson stated that "previous reports on official time are not currently available because OPM is reorganizing our website to improve navigation and customer experience." However, nearly two years later, the site remains inaccessible, a move that has drawn criticism from lawmakers.
The OPM has responded to the criticism by stating that it has created a new online location for reports. However, the new site only contains one report, dating back to 2019, before Biden took office. In a letter to lawmakers, the OPM stated that it is not legally obliged to maintain such records and publish reports. The letter further explained, "As part of modernizing and consolidating our webpages, we routinely remove or migrate information to ensure our web content is up to date and to improve the customer experience."
This move has been met with disappointment from conservatives who argue that it undermines transparency. Senator Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., expressed her concerns, stating, "I am disappointed that OPM will not commit to publishing future reports critical to government oversight of taxpayer dollars. Americans have a right to know if federal workers are using their hard-earned dollars responsibly and not to advance the interests of President Bidens labor union cronies."
Nelsen echoed these sentiments, stating that his public information requests on the matter have been fruitless. He concluded by saying, "Undoing Bidens work will be difficult but, with an earlier start, President [Donald] Trump may be able to have a more significant impact on reforming the federal bureaucracy than in his first term." This situation underscores the ongoing tension between the Biden administration's approach to unions and the conservative emphasis on transparency and accountability.
Login