The federal government reportedly spent a staggering $4.6 billion on office furniture since October 2020, despite only half of federal employees working in-office as of last year, according to the New York Post. Watchdog group OpenTheBooks CEO John Hart testified before the House Oversight Subcommittee on Government Efficiency, criticizing the expenditures as inefficient and excessive. He noted that the funds could have been used to provide basic furniture for millions of households instead of “decorating and redecorating the administrative state.”
While Hart acknowledged that “beautiful spaces can make us more productive,” he questioned the cost and who holds the burden of paying for it.
“Of course, workplaces need desks, chairs and meeting tables, and it’s true that beautiful spaces can make us more productive, but beauty at what cost and on whose dime?” Hart asked.
The Post reports, “According to OpenTheBooks figures shared with The Post, the US government doled out $4 million for furniture and cubicles in US Agency for International Development (USAID) offices in Ukraine, West Africa and Mozambique — the last of which filled spaces with $250,000 worth of Herman Miller chairs. The State Department also spent $1.4 million on art and drawings to fill the walls of its embassies worldwide — including $200,000 for just two paintings by the modern abstract painter Alfred Jensen, Hart also noted in his opening remarks.”
Other examples of notable purchases include $237,960 spent by the CDC on solar-powered picnic tables, $6.6 million allocated by the EPA for “trendy” furniture during office downsizing, and $284,000 at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for conference rooms. Major contractors included Herman Miller and Ethan Allen, among others.
“The highest-spending departments included Defense ($1.63 billion), Veterans Affairs ($590.4 million), Justice ($555.5 million), State ($508.5 million) and the General Services Administration ($552.8 million), where the hearing was held,” according to The Post.
Critics argue that such spending reflects a broader issue of wasteful government practices amidst remote work trends. The Office of Management and Budget reported in May 2024 that over half of federal employees were teleworking regularly. Additionally, a Government Accountability Office study found that 17 out of 24 surveyed agencies operated at less than 25% occupancy in their headquarters during early 2023.
Efforts to address these inefficiencies include terminating nearly 800 federal leases, aiming to save taxpayers $500 million.
“Today’s expansive, excessive and sometimes opulent federal real estate portfolio is both a monument to the federal administrative state and a mausoleum of lost dreams, opportunity and freedom for American taxpayers,” Hart said, adding that “every dollar saved in Washington is a dream realized somewhere else in America.”