Republican senators are telling Americans it’s time to go back to work. A group of Republicans led by Cynthia Lummis are introducing legislation that would require federal employees that are fully vaccinated return to in-person work in an effort to address labor shortages and backups.

Fox News reports:

The Having Employees Return to Duty Act of 2021, or HERD Act, would require all federal employees who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 under President Biden’s vaccine mandate, with the exception of the Department of Defense, to return to their work stations and to hours they worked prior to February 15, 2020, when coverage by the Paycheck Protection Program began at the start of the pandemic.

“It’s long past time for federal workers to be back in the office helping the people of Wyoming and constituents across the United States. There is a huge casework backlog, and that is negatively impacting our veterans, our seniors, our business owners and American citizens,” Lummis told Fox News in a statement. “It’s time to put aside politics, follow the science and get back to work. Americans across the country have been returning to in-person work, and the federal bureaucrats who work for them should do the same.”

The bill states that federal agencies are allowed to implement social distancing guidelines in locations that are seeing substantial transmission of COVID-19.

The senators said constituents had complained about being unable to get paperwork or casework completed when dealing with agencies like the SSA because the staff isn’t at its offices.

Government agencies liek the Social Security Administration have been experiecing months-long backlogs which has resulted in many American being unable to recieve benefits.