New Bill Targets Double Dipping Among Federal Employees

Washington – It seems not everyone can mimic Marco Rubio.

Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) is introducing legislation aimed at addressing the issue of government officials holding multiple civil service positions at once without appropriate permission.

Current laws already prevent full-time government workers from holding multiple federal roles simultaneously unless they receive approval. However, Ernst and her fellow Republicans are looking to bolster these regulations with the Demolition Double Dipper Act, which proposes annual audits of pay records.

Alongside this bill, Ernst, who chairs the Senate Doge Caucus, has encouraged the Personnel Management Bureau to investigate the extent of government officials participating in dual roles.

“The taxpayers who financially support federal employees and contractors deserve to have insight and access to information regarding the federal government,” she noted in a letter to OPM Director Scott Kupaul.

Despite existing regulations, there have been cases where individuals managed to work multiple federal roles simultaneously. For instance, between 2021 and 2024, some housing authority workers reportedly held several federal jobs and full-time contractor roles.

One of those workers, Crissy Monique Baker, admitted in July to falsely claiming hours worked, which resulted in a significant loss of $225,866 to taxpayers. She was employed at HUD, AmeriCorps, and the National Institutes of Health, absurdly claiming she worked 26 hours over 13 days in one month.

Another cited incident involved an NSA contractor who submitted fraudulent timesheets while holding another contract. In 2014, he incurred a loss of $65,265 for taxpayers and filed 79 false time records.

Ernst also referenced similar cases that, while not technically involving double dipping, highlight the lack of oversight. A former top policy advisor at the EPA was found to have falsely claimed involvement in CIA missions, effectively misusing funds over a long term. John Beale was sentenced to 32 months for his activities, which drew a hefty $900,000 from taxpayers.

The senator contended that while this wasn’t straightforward double dipping, it indicated a failure on the EPA’s part to monitor productivity and whereabouts of its senior staff better.

To enforce existing regulations more effectively, the new law will mandate that the OPM conducts annual cross-check audits of government pay. Additionally, Ernst requested that the OPM compile information related to job titles and descriptions within the government.