Cramer, Republicans blasted over Guard furloughs

Forum News Service ^ | 11 July 13 | TJ Jerke

[SkyPilot]

More than 600 full-time military technicians in the North Dako-ta National Guard will lose a total $1.2 million in pay over the next 11 weeks as they are required to take off one day a week due to national spending cuts.

The furloughs, which went into effect Monday, are part of the federal budget sequestration, a series of automatic, across-the-board cuts to government agencies, totaling $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years triggered earlier this year by the inability of Congress to compromise on a federal budget.

On Wednesday, New York Congressman Steve Israel, chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and fo-mer member of the House Armed Services Committee, blasted a handful of House Republicans, including North Dakota Congressman Kevin Cramer, for their “pursuit of extremism” that led to “week one of the most catastrophic and dysfunctional chaos from Republicans,” he said.

“It’s truly tragic, other than the economic loss, (the furloughs) are entirely preventable,” Israel said in a conference call with reporters. “They could be stopped today if there were any sense of compromise and willingness to a solution by the Republican majority.”

Israel highlighted Cramer’s quote about the sequester during a May trip to North Dakota, when Cramer said the sequester “restored some faith in the investment community.”

Israel said it may restore some investment faith, “But if you just got a furlough notice, you don’t have much faith in Cramer.”

Cramer fires back

Cramer defended his position toward the sequester and furloughs, contending he has helped redirect the cuts into priorities that are consistent with North Dakota.

“The Obama administration has not controlled spending, which is causing this problem,” Cramer said in an interview Wednesday. “The administration has decided to spread the cuts out, then prioritize at the bottom of the list.”

[SkyPilot]

"He said nobody is talking about the $19 trillion debt the country faces, “but we have to start dealing with things (Democratic) leaders don’t want to deal with, which is entitlement spending.” "

Unbelievable.

We are spending Federal dollars in record numbers to fee 100 Million Takers via Food Stamps (47 Million), WIC, School Lunches, etc.....yet we punish those who serve this nation.

Shame on Obama. Shame on the do nothing Republicans for allowing this to happen.

We are furloughing nurses at Walter Reed, engineers, and maintainers who work for this nation's military, yet we reward the Takers.

[originalbuckeye]

Yet, the Democrats are silent about the Obama Family's Excellent African Vacation that had no necessity other than another taxpayer funded vacation. That $100 million foray could have paid for tours of our White House for 25 years. It's official now. Democrats have NO CONSCIENCE WHATSOEVER!

[Conserev1]

0’s idea and 0 just spent 100 mil on a vacation so suck back and tighten your belts 0 said so!
The Wookies whim is more important than any family in the USA. Let them eat Broccoli!

[Zhang Fei]

Shame on the do nothing Republicans for allowing this to happen.

The Democrats do control the Senate and the White House. I wouldn't blame the Republicans - I'd blame the majority of voters who gave us those particular senators and that particular president.

Of course, GOP pols have to obfuscate reality, so they'll blame the Democrats. However, the problem isn't Democratic pols - it's the voters.

[cloudmountain]

Those stationed in North Dakota deserve EXTRA, EXTRA pay.

One of my oldest and best friends is from there (Fargo). All she ever talks about is how wonderful it is there. However, she lives HERE in California because of those COLD North Dakota winters. She has some WONderful stories about their winters. Her brother is also here in California; her mother is still there. BRRRR!!!!

She never did seem to put 2 + 2 together. If ND is so wonderful, the state would have 38 million people like California.
ND has so few because there aren't the jobs that there are in California. There aren't the jobs there because few companies set up there. They don't set up there because people don't want to live through those LONG, BITTERLY COLD winters that start SOMETIMES in August and don't end sometimes until April!!
BRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!

[shalom aleichem]

It is NOT across-the-board.

The B-word still takes her $100 Million vacations!!!

[RetiredTexasVet]

His Arrogance put out the memo to make it hurt as much as possible .... payback. But you’ll notice that His Arrogance had a 100 million dollar vacation to Africa, the IRS made movies about two agents and a sheep or something like that for a few million, and the list just goes on and on and on....

[xzins]

A relative is part of the National Guard furlough. He isn’t happy.

There are so many other places to trim funds, but they go after salaries just so they can get someone to hurt and complain about it.

[blueunicorn6]

Maybe all those technicians should go to the US Department of Agriculture and claim to be make-believe pig farmers. That’s good for $50,000.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks SkyPilot.

The Obama administration has not controlled spending, which is causing this problem... The administration has decided to spread the cuts out, then prioritize at the bottom of the list.

[22202NOVA]

Today is my first furlough day. It stinks that Congress caused this problem, but I am making lemonade out of lemons. Here is a letter that I sent to my Congressman and both Senators. If you are subject to the furlough, feel free to adapt it and send it to yours as well.

Dear Representative/Senator,

Today, July 12, 2013, is my first day on sequestration furlough. Thus far, the furlough has cost my family $xxx.xx. This is money that I would have put into the local economy by taking my family to restaurants, or to the movies, or to a baseball game. The impacts on me and my family are direct and immediate.

I am writing to you because your inability and that of your colleagues to do your jobs has resulted in my being unable to do my job. I am asking you, as my Congressional representative (or Senator), to address the following questions:

• What legislation have you introduced (or co-sponsored) to address sequestration and furloughs? A check of legislation identified in a search of Thomas.loc.gov does not show anything.
• What do you intend to do to resolve the sequestrations and furlough issues?
• What do you intend to do to make whole the Federal employees who are being held hostage through no fault of our own?

I await your response to the above questions. I will contact your office each day that I am furloughed.

Respectfully submitted,

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[M Kehoe]

Welcome to FR.

You didn't include the president in your letter? Just out of curiosity, why?

5.56mm

[Sirius Lee]

We are furloughing nurses at Walter Reed, engineers, and maintainers who work for this nation's military, yet we reward the Takers.

That's been happening in the private sector for six years now, except the furloughs have been permanent. I see 40 and 50 yo engineers and programmers who are now working retail if they're lucky. And if they were in manufacturing, forget it.

To know who your government works for, look at who commits crimes and then look at those who never go to jail for them: banksters, arabs, and the collection arm of the Federal Reserve (IRS).

[22202NOVA]

I expect my Congress-critters to respond. I don’t necessarily expect the WH to respond.

[M Kehoe]

I don’t necessarily expect the WH to respond.

I would think the White House would respond. After all it was the president's idea, and he signed it. So why do you think the WH wouldn't respond?

5.56mm

[SkyPilot]

That's been happening in the private sector for six years now, except the furloughs have been permanent

I agree. The private sector has been hammered by the Obama economy.

In the Dept of Defense, however, it is the private sector contractors who are skating by right now. I don't denigrate them. Besides being a former active duty officer I was once a defense contractor myself. But we are punishing a group of people that as a nation we should be applauding.

People who work on Air Force flight lines in 115 degree heat at Luke AFB are getting screwed by this Administration and yes.....this Congress. These people are lowly paid GS civilians. This should NEVER happen. How dare they.

Unfortunately, we have evil people in Washington DC. People that belong in jail cells, not in the halls of power.

[SkyPilot]

Of course, GOP pols have to obfuscate reality, so they'll blame the Democrats. However, the problem isn't Democratic pols - it's the voters.

I know what Moochelle and Barry are. He is a homosexual Marxist, and she is an incompetent racist who lost her law license (in Chicago of all places) because she was too corrupt even for that place.

But the Republicans have no excuse here either. They have SCREWED over the Dept of Defense time and time again. This is not the GOP of Ronald Reagan. Congress thinks the people who serve our nation in the one Federal agency that is Constitutional can be used as an ATM machine. 45% of DoD civilians are veterans themselves. Name one group of Entitlement takers who we could rape for a 20% cut and Congress and Obama would not scream bloody murder? Yet, West Point professors, nurses at military hospitals, and Air Force cops can be raped of their salary and nothing is said. We are truly a dying nation to let this happen.

[22202NOVA]

“In the Dept of Defense, however, it is the private sector contractors who are skating by right now.”

I doubt the contractors are skating by. I used to be one, too, and if I were still one, I wouldn’t be sleeping at night. The business environment for them is likely going to get much worse at the end of September, when option years and task orders don’t get renewed. Also, I expect we’ll be under a CRA for at least 6 months in FY14, and funding will go where it rightly should—to the military and to the Government civilians with whom the Department has a permanent relationship. Contractors will likely fall by the wayside in many, many cases. We’re already seeing it in my organization.

[SkyPilot]

I doubt the contractors are skating by. I used to be one, too, and if I were still one, I wouldn’t be sleeping at night

All you said is true. I was a DoD contractor once myself, so I know the drill.

But realize this: the nurses at military hospitals and the guy turning wrenches on tanks in 112 degree heat have already sacrificed their paychecks to Obama and this Congress. Not "next year" for them. The pain is now. These are people who should be applauded, yet we reward obese Food Stamp takers with Zero loss in their EBT cards being reloaded every month. Shame on this nation.