Congressman moves to block porn on federal computers

Rep. Walter Jones, a North Carolina Republican, is leading a crusade to stop federal employees from watching and downloading porn on government equipment while at work. 

“We are over $19 trillion in debt, and taxpayers are paying for federal employees to waste time at work surfing porn,” Jones said in a press release. “This is a well-documented, government-wide problem. It’s time to put a stop to it.” 

{mosads}Jones sent a letter to House Appropriations Committee Chairman Harold Rogers asking that future appropriations bills include language ensuring that computer networks funded by the government block the viewing, downloading and exchanging of porn.

Porn watching at government agencies has been an issue at the Environmental Protection Agency, where last year the Inspector General revealed in a report that two employees earning $120,000 a year watched porn on the job. They were put on administrative leave for nearly a year before anyone tried to fire them.

Similarly, in 2014, an EPA employee admitted to watching between two and six hours of porn a day at work and downloading 7,000 files of porn on a government computer.

In an appropriations bill for fiscal year 2016, some federal agencies were blocked from watching porn, but not all. Language in the bill requires that computer networks funded by the government block the viewing, downloading and exchanging of porn, but while it covers several divisions of government, it left out divisions that include the EPA, SEC and Department of Interior, agencies that have all seen issues with employees surfing porn at work, Jones said.

“We applaud you for including this funding restriction for many parts of the government,” Jones said in his letter to Rogers. “However, we are deeply troubled that it was not included for all the federal government.”

Jones added, “Unless necessary as part of a criminal investigation, prosecution or adjudication, federal employees should not be able to view, download or exchange pornography on the taxpayers’ dime.”