Federal agencies must now publicly report every hour union reps spend on labor business

What it does

This bill requires federal agencies to report detailed information about 'official time'—paid work hours that union representatives spend on labor-organization business while on the federal payroll. Starting in 2026, the Office of Personnel Management must publish annual reports showing how much official time each agency granted, to whom, for what purposes, the costs involved, and any government facilities provided to unions. Agencies must explain any year-over-year increases in official time usage.

Why we flagged it

The bill's operative mechanism is a mandatory annual reporting requirement on federal agencies' use of official time for union representatives. It does not ban, restrict, or cap official time—it only requires disclosure of existing practices to Congress and the public.

What the text implies

• The bill requires agencies to report the 'fair market value' of any government property (office space, facilities) provided to unions at reduced or no cost, creating a detailed inventory of union resource access that may be used to argue for restrictions or cost-recovery policies in future legislation.
• By mandating year-over-year comparisons and requiring agencies to explain increases in official time, the bill creates a political accountability mechanism that may discourage agencies from authorizing official time even when legally permitted, potentially chilling legitimate labor representation.
• The requirement to disaggregate costs by 'compensation and fringe benefits' and 'travel, per diem, or other expense' may be used to argue that union representatives are receiving excessive benefits or travel, framing labor representation as a luxury rather than a statutory right.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

The bill creates transparency about a real public expenditure (union representatives' paid time off work), which serves democratic accountability and informed oversight. However, the bill does not restrict official time itself—it only mandates reporting—so the civic benefit is limited to visibility rather than cost control or policy change. The framing and emphasis suggest the bill's intent is to create political pressure against union activities, which may chill legitimate labor representation.

Named in the bill

Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Office of Management and Budget (OMB), House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Federal agencies, Labor organizations, Federal employees (union representatives)

Where it stands

8 cosponsors: 8 Republicans.

• Oct 14, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Oct 14, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform”
• Dec 2, 2025 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
• Dec 2, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 24 - 19”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

3 lobbying clients named this bill on 5 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $1,086,600 in lobbying spend. A filing names 71 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 61% of bills with at least one filing.

Virginia Foxx, the sponsor, reported $485,250 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• National Treasury Employees Union — $690,000 on 2 filings
• Earthjustice Action — $376,600 on 2 filings
• Council for Citizens Against Government Waste — $20,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.