WASHINGTON — H.R. 901, formally known as the Eliminating Pornography from Agencies Act, which would prohibit federal employees from accessing sexually explicit material on government computers and devices, advanced through the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Wednesday.
Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., sponsored the legislation in response to a report last year that a federal employee with the Environmental Protection Agency was watching six of porn a day on his work computer and downloaded 7,000 sexually explicit movies.
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.
“Today’s action should send a clear message that it is time for zero tolerance of this kind of behavior,” Meadows wrote on his website. “While there are rules in place at most agencies to ban this kind of unprofessional and unacceptable workplace behavior, it continues to take place.