Rep. Hoyer Welcomes Reduced Furlough, More to Do
Posted by Congressman Steny Hoyer Pax II
Furloughed civilian defense employees who have been feeling the pinch of shorter hours can return next week to a 40-hour week. Recent cost-saving efforts announced by the Pentagon cut furlough days down to six 32-hour work weeks instead of the anticipated 11.
“For our hard-working men and women in civilian roles at the Department of Defense, including those I met with in July at Pax River and Indian Head in Maryland’s Fifth District, this news will surely come as a measure of relief,” said Congressman Steny Hoyer.
“While this is a welcome announcement, I agree with Secretary Hagel that our military readiness remains significantly eroded as a result of the furloughs taken so far and reduced funding for training and equipment as a result of the sequester,” said Mr. Hoyer on the lingering effects of the now shortened furlough.
Mr. Hoyer maintains that sequestration is “an irrational and senseless policy” and that in order to ensure the national and economic safety of our country we must replace the policy altogether.
As the end of the fiscal year approaches, Mr. Hoyer continues to press for “a big, balanced, and bipartisan alternative” to the sequestration policy. According to Mr. Hoyer, the new fiscal year could bring even deeper cuts if an agreement is not met when Congress resumes in September.
