Hoyer: President Should Stop Playing Politics with Defense Employees

[babylonsister]

Pre-caving?

http://www.speaker.gov/blog/?p=995

Leader Hoyer: President Should Stop Playing Politics with Defense Employees
December 12th, 2007 by Jesse Lee

From the Democratic Leader:

Hoyer: President Should Stop Playing Politics with Defense Employees
CRS Report Says Defense Department Has Tools to Avoid Issuing Furlough Notices

Click here to read the full CRS Report, “Extending Army Operations in Advance of a Supplemental War Appropriation.”

Table of Possible Options for Extending Army Operations in Advance of 2008 Supplemental Appropriations

WASHINGTON, DC - House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) joined Members of the Washington Metro Area Delegation at a press conference this afternoon to discuss how it is unnecessary for the Department of Defense to issue furlough notices to 100,000 federal employees. Below are his remarks as prepared for delivery:

“Let me say right at the top: Department of Defense workers are not going to be furloughed. That is not going to happen.

“Yet, the Department of Defense apparently intends to move forward with notifying civilian defense employees of possible furloughs as soon as this week.

“Here’s the reality: On Monday, the non-partisan Congressional Research Service issued a report on Extending Army Operations in Advance of a Supplemental War Appropriation, and found that the Department of Defense could continue current operations on current DoD funds until March 2008.

“This action – unnecessarily upsetting countless families throughout the region and across the country during the holiday season - is quite simply a political tactic by the Administration to pressure Congress to continue writing blank checks for its failing Iraq policy.

“As CRS indicates, the Department of Defense currently has tools at its disposal to move funds – a common practice employed by the Department in recent years.

“Indeed, most recently, the Department used its General Transfer Authority in FY07 to shift funds while it awaited funds that the previous Republican-led Congress neglected to provide.

“According to the CRS Report: ‘In the absence of a bridge fund, the Defense Department may be able to extend Army and Marine Corps operations beyond February or March, either by adding money from other sources to Operations and Maintenance accounts or by slowing the pace at which the services are obligating funds.’

“Despite this, this Administration has chosen to play politics and stoke the fears of civilian employees, rather than meeting with Members of Congress to find ways to address this matter. Like the ill-conceived National Security Personnel System, this is simply one more example of this Administration’s low regard for our federal civilian workforce.

“Defense employees work hard every day to keep America safe and provide critical support to our soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere around the world. President Bush should stop using these dedicated and valued workers as political pawns in an attempt to get Congress to write a blank check for Iraq.

“I urge the President and his advisors: abandon the political theater and work with us to ensure that defense employees are able to continue the vital work they do on behalf of the nation.”

[msongs]

1. hoyer is another cowardly democrat who does little to oppose bush except blather nt

[thepurpose]

2. Wow. Another strongly worded letter. Give the trees a break and do something Mr. Hoyer.

[Igel]

3. I don't understand this.

"Here’s the reality: On Monday, the non-partisan Congressional Research Service issued a report on Extending Army Operations in Advance of a Supplemental War Appropriation, and found that the Department of Defense could continue current operations on current DoD funds until March 2008."

But that's what the DoD says, as well.

"Yet, the Department of Defense apparently intends to move forward with notifying civilian defense employees of possible furloughs as soon as this week."

I doubt they'll be furloughed. Sixty days can be a long time in legislative time. But the law (or or is merely a regulation?) say that furlough notices have to be sent out 60 days before the furlough can take effect.

If "... funds until March 2008" means "possibility of furloughs in March 2008", that means "notice of potential for furloughs must be sent out in December 2007".

So if there's the possibility of needing to furlough anybody in 3/08 and you don't notify them in 12/07, you *can't* furlough them in 3/08 (ok, if you notify them on 12/31/07, you could still furlough them on 3/29 or 3/30/08, but that strikes me as un-Gricean hairsplitting).

Now, it may be that "‘In the absence of a bridge fund, the Defense Department may be able to extend Army and Marine Corps operations beyond February or March, either by adding money from other sources to Operations and Maintenance accounts or by slowing the pace at which the services are obligating funds’" is talking about something other than what the DoD has been discussing--moving funds from contracts and other programs to support overseas operations. If so, I'm not seeing it.

“I urge the President and his advisors: abandon the political theater and work with us to ensure that defense employees are able to continue the vital work they do on behalf of the nation" is still a fine point to make. But the rest seems disengenuous.

What am I missing?

On edit: Ok, one thing I'm missing is some basic math skills. 60 days means the notices need to go out in January '08, not December '07. On the other hand, the DoD is also saying "layoffs in February"--presumably to allow other layoffs to be delayed, or to maximize the amount of play they have--so that still entails notice given in 12/07.

[babylonsister]

4. Here's some help:

Furloughs:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=259&topic_id=8260

And this thread is about the trouble in river city/deadlock:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=2451329

[spanone]

5. blow it out your ass steny, your bozos just passed money for his crimes