Grievous Violation Of The Public's Trust

Republican lawmakers introduced bills to end paying federal employees to work on union activities. The practice is known as official time. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) calls it a grievous violation of the public's trust. His Federal Employee Accountability Act is a one-page bill with 13 sponsors. Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) sponsored a similar House bill in January. The Senate version is stricter, eliminating official time altogether. The House version permits it under some circumstances.The Office of Personnel Management calculates that in 2011, federal employees spent an average of just under three hours per year on union work.