During Public Service Recognition Week, Oversight Democrats Seek to Make Federal Service More Accessible to Military, Foreign Service Spouses
Washington, D.C. (May 7, 2024)—Today, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, in honor of Public Service Recognition Week, led Oversight Democrats in sending letters to the 24 Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act agencies requesting information about each agency’s efforts to eliminate employment barriers and advance employment opportunities for the military and civilian families. Military and Foreign Service-connected spouses who live overseas while serving the nation are known as Domestic Employees Teleworking Overseas (DETO).
“We write requesting information about how your agency is eliminating employment barriers and advancing employment opportunities for military and civilian families who serve this nation overseas,” wrote the Members. “Military-connected and other civil service families have been and continue to make major sacrifices to serve our country. As the largest employer in the nation, the federal government has an obligation to military families who deserve ‘nothing less than the dignity of a meaningful career and the opportunity to build economic security.’ It is important that agencies recruit, hire, develop, promote, and retain a skilled and diverse pool of talent—which must include military-connected families.”
On June 9, 2023, President Biden issued Executive Order 14100 titled, “Advancing Economic Security for Military and Veteran Spouses, Military Caregivers, and Survivors,” which strengthens the DETO program for military spouses who work for the federal government, helping military spouses maintain their careers and keep their families together when their servicemembers are stationed overseas.
Democrats in Congress catalyzed this work in the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which included provisions requiring federal agencies to clarify where and when federal employees whose spouses are assigned overseas can perform their work responsibilities—normally performed within the United States—remotely because their spouse is deployed overseas.
Committee Democrats request the CFO Act agencies provide information related to their compliance with the Fiscal Year 2022 NDAA no later than May 21, 2024, to help the Committee conduct oversight of the agencies’ implementation and use of DETO policy.
Click here to read the letter to United States Agency for International Development.
Click here to read the letter to Department of Agriculture.
Click here to read the letter to Department of Commerce.
Click here to read the letter to Department of Defense.
Click here to read the letter to Department of Education.
Click here to read the letter to Department of Energy.
Click here to read the letter to Department of Health and Human Services.
Click here to read the letter to Department of Homeland Security.
Click here to read the letter to Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Click here to read the letter to Department of the Interior.
Click here to read the letter to Department of Justice.
Click here to read the letter to Department of Labor.
Click here to read the letter to Department of State.
Click here to read the letter to Department of Transportation.
Click here to read the letter to Department of the Treasury.
Click here to read the letter to Department of Veterans Affairs.
Click here to read the letter to Environmental Protection Agency.
Click here to read the letter to General Services Administration.
Click here to read the letter to National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Click here to read the letter to National Science Foundation.
Click here to read the letter to Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Click here to read the letter to Office of Personnel Management.
Click here to read the letter to Small Business Administration.
Click here to read the letter to Social Security Administration.