Telework has been an idea up in the air for a long time for federal workers. It's taken baby steps toward reality thus far, but under new legislation introduced in Congress on Wednesday, it could become a policy that provides a uniform telework policy across government.

It needs some polish to make it work, with technology playing an essential role. It must be secure for workers transmitting their data from home to office. Wireless connections must work, and a government agency must provide a safe gateway into and out of a government office.

Congressional sponsors of the 2009 Telework Improvement Act didn't talk about technology as the oil that will make it happen. Instead, they framed telework as good-governance and quality-of-life issues. They also said it would be a good recruitment and retention tool for government agencies, to find and hire the best and the brightest.

"This bill will reduce the number of daily auto trips among the 2.5 million daily commuters of the National Capital Region and provide a critical post-Sept. 11 framework for continuity of operations plans in both the public and private sectors," Rep. Gerald Connolly (D-VA) said.

For more on telecommuting:
- check out this nextgov.com article