Gates Tells Congress, Furloughs Coming

[unhappycamper]

American Forces Press Service | December 12, 2007

WASHINGTON, Dec. 11, 2007 – The Defense Department has officially notified Congress that the department will begin the furlough process for civilian employees of the Army, the Marine Corps and the combatant commands.

Congressional leaders have released a letter from Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England dated Dec. 7. In it, England gave legislators the required 45-day notice before beginning furloughs.

The furloughs will become necessary if Congress does not pass a global war on terror spending bill. “Without GWOT funding, only operations and maintenance funds in the base budget are available to cover war-related costs,” England said in the letter. “O&M funds also cover salary costs for a large number of Army and Marine Corps civilian employees.”

England reminded legislators of a letter he sent Nov. 8 to explain what would happen without supplemental war funding. “I emphasized that without this critical funding, the department would have no choice but to deplete key appropriations accounts in order to sustain essential military operations around the world,” he wrote in his Dec. 7 letter.

The House passed a $50 billion bill last month with funds to continue the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but it included legislation that directs the president to withdraw most combat troops from Iraq by December 2008. The measure failed in the Senate. President Bush has vowed to veto any bill that includes a troop-withdrawal timetable.

[bigscott]

1. fuck 'em

the Dems should (but probably wont) scream from the roof-tops that this is the WH and GOP playing politics with peoples lives. The defense department budget passed months ago - laying off civilian employees of the defense department has NOTHING to do with the so-called GWOT

Lying sacks of shit:banghead: