In recent years, both Congress and the executive branch have increasingly promoted telework to help achieve important public policy goals. Among these are: improving the Government's ability to recruit and retain a high-quality workforce in a competitive job market, protecting environmental quality and energy conservation by reducing traffic congestion and vehicle emissions, improving employees' work lives by allowing a better balance of work and family responsibilities, and reducing work-related stress.

Over the past several years, Congress has increasingly sought to encourage widespread use of telework. A 1990 telecommunications bill authorized Federal agencies to spend Federal funds for extra telephone lines, related equipment, and computer connection fees for Federal teleworkers. This temporary authorization was re-enacted annually thereafter and made permanent in 1996.

Congress authorized Federal telework centers in the FY 1994 Treasury, Postal Service and General Government Appropriations Act. In 1999, the conference report accompanying Public Law 105-277 required agencies to make at least $50,000 available annually to pay for telework center usage. Section 638 of Public Law 107-67, the 2002 Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, directed Federal agencies covered by section 630(a) of Public Law 105-277 to report to OPM on their efforts to promote and use telecommuting centers as part of their flexiplace program. In December 2001, OPM provided a report to the House Committee on Appropriations titled, "Federal Agency Efforts to Promote and Use Telecenters." In House Report 107-152, which accompanied the FY 2002 Treasury, and General Government Appropriations legislation, GSA was directed to increase its marketing of the telework centers and to develop a business case for a pilot project that would allow a 60-day free trial period for certain Federal employees to use the telework centers. In May and September 2002, the House Subcommittee on Technology and Procurement Policy held hearings to assess the extent of teleworking in the Federal Government and to consider what next steps might be needed to increase utilization.

Section 359 of the 2001 Department of Transportation appropriations bill (Public Law 106-346) required all Executive agencies to establish telecommuting policies. The law also directed OPM to ensure that this requirement was applied to 25 percent of the Federal workforce by April 2001 and to an additional 25 percent in each subsequent year. In H.R. 4872, House Report 106-756, Congress asked that GSA identify and develop a plan to resolve technology barrier issues that impede the creation of home workstations for Federal employees, resulting in the IT barriers study titled, "Analysis of Home-Based Telework Technology Barriers."

In December 2001, the General Accounting Office (GAO) was asked to conduct a review of telework in Federal agencies at the request of Representative Tom Davis, Chairman, Government Reform Subcommittee on Technology and Procurement Policy. In addition, the Congressional Research Service continually provides updates on telework for Members and Committees of Congress via a report titled, "Telework in the Federal Government: Background, Policy and Oversight."