Sen. Joni Ernst wants to tweak the House-passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act to eliminate the longstanding practice of taxpayer-funded union time.
Approximately $160 million of your money went toward fed workers’ union time as of 2019, the last time such data was available, and Ernst (R-Iowa) has been on a quest for more recent information.
Her legislation, dubbed the “Protecting Taxpayers’ Wallet Act,” would compel government unions to reimburse taxpayers for all of their taxpayer-backed activities. Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) has championed the measure in the House.
“Bureaucrats should be serving the American people, not themselves,” Ernst said in a statement. “Taxpayer-funded union time is a completely backwards and bonkers policy that gives handouts to union bosses and puts taxpayers last.
“I worked with the Trump administration to get federal employees back to work and now is the time to force the deep-pocketed unions to foot their own bill.”
Taxpayer-funded union time refers to activities including union-sponsored training events, preparations for collective bargaining, labor meetings, and work on behalf of those facing disciplinary action.
By law, federal unions can’t negotiate with the government over benefits or pay.
“They’re left negotiating for tedious things that are of zero or negative benefit to taxpayers,” Rachel Greszler, a senior research fellow on workforce and public finance at the Heritage Foundation, previously explained to The Post.
“This includes things like the height of cubicle panels, securing designated smoking areas on otherwise smoke-free campuses, and the right to wear Spandex at work.”
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which cleared the House last month, is now working its way through the Senate, where Republicans in that chamber are hoping to make modifications.
After it clears the Senate, the megabill will head to the House for another vote and then to President Trump’s desk for his signature. GOP leaders are hoping to get it over the finish line by the Fourth of July.
With the GOP holding narrow majorities in both houses, senators have significant leverage and are hoping to use it to make adjustments to the megabill.
Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) have signaled they may push for changes to the megabill’s Medicaid reform provisions.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) has noted that she wants to look closely at the bill’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) reforms.
Fiscal hawks, including Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah), have demanded steeper cuts to federal spending.
Paul has specifically demanded that Republicans remove the increase to the debt ceiling. The House version would hike the debt limit by $4 trillion, which the Senate’s blueprint calls for a $5 trillion increase.
The US is projected to hit its credit limit by August or September, the Congressional Budget Office has estimated.
Ernst, who helms the Senate DOGE Caucus, has pushed for other reforms to find additional savings.
Those include the Presidential Election Campaign Fund, which had $320 million allocated to it last year; disqualifying millionaires from receiving unemployment benefits, which cost about $271 million during the first two years of the Biden administration; and selling six federal buildings to recoup a projected $400 million.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act is intended to be President Trump’s signature legislative achievement of his second term, featuring tax cuts, enhanced border security, boosted energy supply, bolstered defense spending, and more.
The CBO estimates that the megabill will increase the federal deficit by about $3 trillion over the next decade.
