WASHINGTON — The Eliminating Pornography From Agencies Act was introduced on Capitol Hill yesterday.
It’s a legislative attempt to put a crimp on federal employees from accessing sexually explicit content at work.
"It's appalling that it requires an act of Congress to ensure that federal agencies block access to these sites," said Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., who introduced legislation.
"There is absolutely no excuse for federal employees to be viewing and downloading pornographic materials on the taxpayers' dime," Meadows said. "Further, downloading these files, which are often ridden with viruses and malware, poses a cybersecurity threat at our federal agencies. This commonsense legislation ensures that federal workers have a comfortable, safe work environment and protects taxpayer resources from being misused."
Last year, according to Meadows, the inspector general for the Environmental Protection Agency cited a worker for downloading more than 7,000 explicit pics and spending up to six hours a day watching porn on his government computer.
In another case, an employee at the Treasury Department told investigators that he knew it was against government regulations, but he didn't have enough work to do and was bored. Instead, he viewed over 13,000 pics in a six-week stretch.
Meadows, who introduced and was blocked with a similar bill last year, said the new legislation would require the Office of Management and Budget to implement guidelines banning federal employees from looking at porn while on the clock as well as blocking access to the sites.