Pentagon awash in pink slips, preparing 800,000 civilian furloughs

Washington Times ^ | 20 Feb 13 | Kristina Wong

[SkyPilot]

The Defense Department on Wednesday officially notified Congress that it plans to begin furloughing its 800,000 civilian employees across the country if automatic spending cuts begin March 1, estimating the states would lose a total of $4.86 billion in workers’ wages this year.

According to Pentagon estimates, among the hardest-hit states would be Virginia, which would have about 88,000 affected workers and salary losses of $660.9 million; California, with 62,600 workers and $419.7 million in lost wages; and Maryland, with 45,700 workers and $359.3 million in lost earnings.

“This is not a Beltway phenomenon,” Jessica L. Wright, the acting undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, told reporters at the Pentagon. “More than 80 percent of our civilians work outside of the D.C. metro area. They live and work in every state of the union.”

Under the furlough plan, civilian workers would be forced to take one day of unpaid leave each week for 22 weeks from late April through September, costing them about 20 percent of their pay during that time, Pentagon officials said.

In a written message, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta told civilian workers that they “will be provided at least 30 days’ notice prior to executing a furlough and your benefits will be protected to the maximum extent possible.”

He added that the Pentagon “also will work to ensure that furloughs are executed in a consistent and appropriate manner.”

Mr. Panetta noted that the department has been funded by a continuing resolution that has limited spending to 2012 levels and said the effects of sequestration may be felt more intensely because of it.

[Marie]

Social Security is not an Entitlement. It is a paid-into system.

You have to admit that SS recipients usually get much more than they paid into the system. After they get that amount back, it becomes an entitlement by definition.

[Salvavida]

Why are there over 800,000 DoD civilians?

I work for DOD civilians. It takes 10 people to do what it used to take 1. No one holds anyone accountable. If you try to hold someone accountable, you are villified. The incompetence is widespread. The fundamentals have been abandoned, the office of the Inspector General is worthless because they don't have the teeth they used to: there was a day when a "finding" was a major issue. Careers where lost. Present day, not so much. A finding by the IG is a suggestion.

People get hired now by who they know. Credentials mean nothing anymore. There is no integrity in the system.

Lastly, there is nothing and no one in position to turn it around. It will continue to devolve. Sorry for doom and gloom, but that is the way it is.

[mbarker12474]

Some partial data points for this discussion:

1. We have a fleet which is not going to sea because of this.

2. Sailors and families which got out of apartment leases now have to scramble to find places to live in Virginia Beach, Charleston, Florida, etc.

3. Entitlement programs are untouched. They should be. Social Security, Medicaid, and all other entitlement programs should be eliminated and outlawed via enforcement of the general welfare clause.

4. The civilian side of DoD spends great energies and staff labors on many bureaucratic stupidities. If you lopped off two floors of my three-story DoD building, along with the concomitant amount of bureaucratic tasking, and along with about two-thirds of superfluous SES’ers and flag officers who create bureaucratic unnecessities, it’d be a good thing.

5. The low-level bureaucrat is not himself responsible for the bureaucracy. Although, in general, the bureaucrat loses the perspective that he sits in a bureaucracy. Please do not vent at the bureaucrat. Vent at your neighbors who elect politicians who fund these bureaucracies and invent unnecessary programs for bureaucrats to perform.

6. The military has already been drawn down by operational cuts. If you want to be ruled by the Chinese, then keep advocating for more cuts to forces. Fund the hegemon of your choice. I prefer that the United States be the global hegemon.

[mbarker12474]

I work for DOD civilians. It takes 10 people to do what it used to take 1. No one holds anyone accountable. If you try to hold someone accountable, you are villified. The incompetence is widespread....

One of my bosses explicitly told us, for an upcoming DOD IG inspection, to not tell the inspectors that "something is stupid." He said it was "not professional" to point out that stupidly done things are done stupidly. My take-away from this is that I have nothing to say to the inspectors. Either that or I have to lie. This guy spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to stand-up a duplicate IT system to one already standing IN HIS OWN ORGANIZATION, managed from an office TEN STEPS from his own. Now he is hell-bent on further dividing our staff resources and labor to stand up a third duplicate (terribly dysfunctional) IT system hosted incompetently at our headquarters in D.C. We've spent 12 months working at an IT hosting task which should take a weekend in a world where we were spending our own money, and not that of the taxpayers, in a 47-layer deep bureaucracy.

[Texan5]

Most of the potential customers of mine and the contractor I work for are low on work and money-and that means we are, too. I pray every day for just a couple of days a week of work, no matter how small the job or little the pay-most everyone I know prays for the same thing. I can’t imagine whining over a temporary furlough.

I feel so badly for the animals abandoned by owners-my three cats were shelter refugees-I’ve made a promise to myself that as soon as my life becomes better than hand-to-mouth again, the second bit of money I give to charity will be to the local animal shelter-the first, of course will be to my parish church-to God, as thanks for better circumstances.

[Ghost of Philip Marlowe]

How many employees are being furloughed from the EPA? Dept of Ed? HUD? HHS? Anyone? Anyone?

This is their go-to plan: punish the people when they dare to try to curb out-of-control deficit spending.

When someone tries to make the leftists figure out how to pay for their spending and then threaten to cut off that spending, the leftists say, “OK. We’ll have to cut off pay to the police, fire departments, libraries, parks, playgrounds, food for children, medicine for the elderly.”

There are many other recipients of purely wasteful spending that should be cut PERMANENTLY.

[P-Marlowe]

IF I knew that the money that is taken would go towards the debt or something IMPORTANT, but it is going to be wasted and spent on more Obamaphones. that is totally WRONG!!!!

If 800,000 furloughed Civilian contract workers get pissed off enough to demand that the government end all these silly useless spending programs, then maybe something would be done to end them. The fact is that the money follows the votes. These politicians are interested in nothing more than getting and maintaining power. Most likely, however, about 750,000 of the 800,000 furloughed employees will blame the mean unfeeling Republicans rather than the kind hearted well meaning socialists. So the only thing that will happen is that the furloughs will become as permanent as the obamamphone programs.

[Karliner]

Obama is a disease.

[USAF80]

The OB supporters have been strangely quiet about the furloughs.

[frogjerk]

Not true. There is no promise that the civilians will be paid back pay.

Have they ever not received their back pay?

[clintonh8r]

Instead of lecturing congress, maybe the neutered JCS could push back on their boss. They’re supposed to be defending the Constitution, not their pensions.

[SkyPilot]

You people on here that support this anger me to no end. There are many good people, like myself, who will be hurt, and hurt badly, because of this. Sure, there are folks who make enough money to be able to tighten up a bit, but when folks like me, WHO BARELY NET $22,000 A YEAR, have to take a pay cut because of Obama's war on the military see you cheering this, it makes me wonder why I even patronize this website. I'm going to lose over $4,000, and you're happy? Go ahead, flame away, but I'm letting you know that this sequestration will hurt many people and all I see you doing is cheering Obama on. Sickening, absolutely sickening................

I am so sorry ducttape. I will pray for you.

It is sickening. As I said a few days ago before FreeRepublic went down: I remember when this used to be a pro-military Conservative website.

The temperature of the nation right now is somewhere between panic, angst, uncertainty, anger, and depression.

All hail our leaders.

Obama is what he is: a homosexual with "daddy issues" who diddled Reggie Love last weekend, the press knew it, and no one cares.

The Republicans are just now starting to figure out that they lost last November, they don't control the Senate, they don't control the White House, they don't control a single Executive branch agency, and that Judas Robers sit atop the Supreme Court.

Guy like you, who work hard to earn what they have, are caught in the middle. The left hates you because you are not taking your SNAP card, ripping off American by claiming you should be getting Social Security Disability, and not taking your unemployment "benefits" for 99 weeks (which were extended again during the last "Fiscal Cliff" negotiations to the tune of about $35 Billion).

Money for that, yesiree.

Hand over fist.

Not for you, though.

I love Rush Limbaugh. I really do. The man is brilliant, and he has brought more insight into the actual workings of politics to Joe Everyman than this nation ever had before.

But on this issue, he is wrong. Dead wrong.

He is reading the talking points of Ryan and Cantor, and they will take the Republican party straight into the pit. The cuts are insignificant when compared to the entire fiscal outlays. The are not insignificant to DoD, that has to take a 30-40% Operations and Maintenance cut in just 6 months to absorb the costs. Not to mention this entire fiasco also ignores the fact that Entitlements (which are breaking the back of this nation) are exempt, and the military and working people are going to suffer the most from these cut taking place in the MIDDLE OF A FISCAL YEAR WHEN ALL AGENCIES WERE TOLD NOT TO EVEN PLAN FOR THEM BY BOTH POLITICAL PARTIES.

The Republicans will lose the House of Representatives in 2014 over the way they handled the Sequester issue.

Mark my words.

[tcrlaf]

Meanwhile, on every channel, it’s “SEE WHAT THE REPUBLICANS ARE DOING?? THEY ARE BRINGING MISERY TO MILLIONS!!!”

We’ve already lost the media messaging war on this.

[riri]

My friend's dad in among the 800k. He just got the letter this week.

But, you know, he's old, white and dispensable in the New World Order. Soon, they can death panel him out of existence.

[SkyPilot]

We’ve already lost the media messaging war on this.

How stupid does the "Stupid Party" have to be?

As of this morning, Ryan is going around bragging about these cuts.

"This is going to have a devastating impact on our economic recovery," Lowenthal said. "It will especially impact the people who are the most vulnerable." Ryan has predicted that Congress will allow sequestration cuts to kick in.

Four months ago, Ryan was campaigning and writing letters to the editor (with House Armed Services Chairman "Buck" McKeon) that they GOP had to STOP these cuts.

W.

T.

F.

[lodi90]

TO DOD Civilians along with other federal employees: BOO F__’in HOO!

---

Yep. You can see in this thread those still stuck to Uncle Sugar for their fix are in denial.

Soon the Kenyan will come for them because the DOD budget will be eviscerated. The dems have dreamed about doing that for generations and now they see their chance. They won’t pass it up.

[RFEngineer]

“You people on here that support this anger me to no end.”

Some people prefer to call us “Taxpayers”, but don’t worry, we don’t get much respect these days. Only our heroic public sector deserves that.

I support any cuts to government, where ever they occur. Life is tough, and if $22k after taxes isn’t enough for you, come on out in the rough-and-tumble of the private sector. You may make more, you may make less, but please...stop whining!

You are excoriating (that means berating, for you entitlement-minded public sector folks) the very people who pay for it all - and have EVERY RIGHT TO DEMAND CUTS - including cuts to YOUR PAY.

Do you understand that? Whether you like it or not, there are more cuts coming. We simply do not have the money.

So, to save America, we have to fire people like you, and lots more people that “NET” more than you, and some less than you.

It’s the only way....the ONLY way to save America.

Do you want some help working on a private-sector resume? I’ll give you assistance out of the goodness of my heart, but you’ll have to promise not to keep trying to take my money.

[RFEngineer]

“Finally, some sanity here. It gets a bit frustrating when people with no earthly idea of what I do feel its okay to take 1/5 of my check for 6 months.”

The irony is palpable (That means “obvious” for you entitlement-minded public sector types)

How much of my private sector, self-employed money goes to pay for you? Why don’t you care when my work dries up?

Your check, and a lot of other public sector checks need to stop completely to save America. Thank you for the down-payment, but we need a whole lot of you to give the remaining 4/5ths and come over to the real economy and help push the wagon instead of riding in it.

[SkyPilot]

Life is tough, and if $22k after taxes isn’t enough for you, come on out in the rough-and-tumble of the private sector. You may make more, you may make less, but please...stop whining!

Do you know how pathetic you sound?

Going after a guy who is works hard, makes very little, does not take unemployment, does not take Food Stamps, does not take "disability", and gives his labor to a noble institution (the military), only to have people like you say that to him?

I knew you had "issues." But this is a new low for you RFEngineer.

[SkyPilot]

Don't let posts from people like RFEngineer get you down.

You hang in there.

"I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears."

Psalm 34:4