The ROOMIE Act requires federal agencies to bring most of their employees back to the office full-time and use more of the office space they're paying for. Specifically, agencies must have at least 80 percent of their employees working in-person Monday through Friday (except on federal holidays) within 120 days of the law taking effect. They also need to make sure at least 60 percent of their office space is actually being occupied by workers.

The bill was created because government audits found that federal agencies are wasting money on office buildings that sit mostly empty. For example, some agencies were only using 25 percent or less of their headquarters buildings, and in Washington D.C., federal properties were operating at just 12 percent capacity on average. The government owns or leases about 90 million square feet of property in the D.C. area alone. Beyond the cost, empty buildings create health hazards—bacteria like Legionella have been found in six underused federal buildings that are open to the public.

If an agency doesn't have enough employees to fill 60 percent of its office space, it has one year to create a plan showing how it will reach that goal, potentially by sharing space with other federal agencies. If agencies fail to meet these requirements by the deadlines, they must sell any buildings they own or end their leases on rented office space. The goal is to reduce waste, improve building safety, and make federal agencies more efficient by getting people back to work in person.