Sen. Ernst Rails on Union Work Paid by Taxpayers

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, is lashing out at the discovery of more than $400,000 spent by NASA on employees doing union work in the last fiscal year. Ernst chairs the Senate DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) Caucus and said allowing federal employees to handle union duties while on the clock amounts to "ripping off taxpayers by an astronomical amount," as reported by the New York Post.

Just two weeks ago, Ernst introduced the 'Protecting Taxpayers' Wallet Act' to help prevent union activities being covered by government spending. Ernst posted on her Senate information website, "We need a full accounting of how many work hours and tax dollars have been spent to fully understand just how broken the federal workforce is. I am getting bureaucrats back to work and serving taxpayers instead of themselves."

Spending by NASA on union work has dropped since 2019, when records show NASA employees ran up over $640,000 in government-covered time performing union work, reported the Post.

Ernst and Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, have written to President Donald Trump asking for a greater focus on the issue. The two told Trump the Biden administration "allowed federal employee unions to run wild, sticking taxpayers with the tab."

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