A once-accessible government website has mysteriously disappeared, raising questions about transparency and accountability in federal operations.
The Center Square reported that the Biden administration has removed an online database designed to track "official time" used by federal employee unions.
This database, previously maintained by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), provided public access to information about taxpayer-funded union activities performed by government workers.
The practice of "official time" allows federal employees who are union members to conduct union business during work hours, effectively at taxpayers' expense. For decades, lawmakers have sought accountability and reporting on this practice, leading to the creation of the now-defunct website.
The removal of the website has not only halted the ongoing tracking of union activities but has also erased years of historical data. This loss of information has alarmed transparency advocates and raised concerns about the current administration's commitment to open government practices.
Max Nelsen from the Freedom Foundation expressed his concerns to The Center Square, stating that OPM has actively obscured official government reports documenting the cost of federal employees' union work to taxpayers. He also noted the agency's reluctance to publish updated estimates of official time use during the current administration.
The absence of this data makes it challenging for the public and policymakers to assess the extent and cost of union activities conducted on government time. This lack of transparency could potentially mask significant increases in taxpayer-funded union work.
In response to the website's disappearance, a group of ten U.S. senators formally inquired about the issue with OPM. The agency's response, obtained by The Center Square, defended the decision to remove the website while asserting that neither the White House nor any unions were consulted in this process.
OPM claimed that despite regularly publishing official time reports since the Clinton administration, it is not legally obligated to continue this practice. The agency stated that it had moved its official time reporting to the "agency reports" section of its website. However, a quick examination of this section reveals no official time reports have been published there since 2019 before President Joe Biden took office.
This limited response and the continued absence of readily accessible official time reports have done little to alleviate concerns about the transparency of federal union activities.
The removal of the official time-tracking website has significant implications for taxpayer accountability. Without easy access to this information, it becomes more difficult for the public to understand how their tax dollars are being used in relation to federal union activities.
Nelsen highlighted the potential consequences of this lack of transparency, suggesting that any updated report would likely show a significant increase in the cost of taxpayer-funded union work. He likened this potential increase to the rising costs of everyday expenses for Americans.
The disappearance of the federal union accountability webpage under the Biden administration has raised significant concerns about government transparency and the use of taxpayer resources. The removal of this long-standing tool for tracking "official time" has left a gap in public oversight of federal union activities. Despite congressional inquiries and public information requests, the Office of Personnel Management has provided limited explanations and no replacement for the lost data.
