New bill: No more porn at federal agencies (original) (raw)

A House Republican wants to prevent all federal employees from watching pornography at work.

Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) on Wednesday introduced the Eliminating Pornography from Agencies Act, which he said would prevent government employees from taking their eyes off their work.

{mosads}“There is absolutely no excuse for federal employees to be viewing and downloading pornographic materials on the taxpayers’ dime,” he said in a statement.

While many agencies currently have rules on the books prohibiting employees from looking at porn or other inappropriate websites, it nonetheless still happens.

Last year, an inspector general found one Environmental Protection Agency staffer who watched as much as six hours of pornography per day on his government-issued computer in his office.

Meadows’s new bill would require the Office of Management and Budget to issue guidelines banning administration staffers from visiting pornographic websites while on the job.

“It’s appalling that it requires an act of Congress to ensure that federal agencies block access to these sites,” he added.

Not only would the bill prevent those kind of abuses of taxpayer dollars, he said, but it would also better safeguard government networks, since porn websites are a notorious breeding ground for spreading computer viruses.

Meadows introduced a similar bill last year, but it failed to gain any traction.

The North Carolina Republican is the chairman of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Government Operations.