Panetta's budget plans

[Pima]

http://www.military.com/daily-news/...iring-freezes-furlough-plans.html?ESRC=dod.nl

Here we go again!

It is going to be very interesting in the MD/VA/DC area.

Defense Department leaders authorized such measures as civilian hiring freezes, contract award delays, and furloughs of up to 30 calendar days. Panetta said the Pentagon will have little time if Congress waits until March 1, the new deadline set on Capitol Hill to determine sequestration cuts.
Panetta and Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, issued their sternest warnings yet Thursday, telling Congress the U.S. military will be unprepared in one year to protect the country if the Defense Department sustains the sweeping potential budget cuts.
“We'll be unable to reset the force following a decade of war,” Dempsey said. “Our readiness will begin to erode. Within months, we'll be less prepared. Within a year, we'll be unprepared.”

Pushing the deadline back may have made sequestration cuts for the defense department more likely, said Todd Harrison, a defense analyst for the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.
Panetta and Dempsey signaled their uncertainty and concern the sequestration cuts would be enacted by authorizing measures to stem the damages the cuts could cause. The Pentagon leaders had previously said they didn’t count on planning for the cuts because they felt they were so unlikely. Their opinion has changed.
“I've directed components to develop more detailed plans for how they would implement sequestration if it's required, because there will be so little time to respond in the current fiscal year,” Panetta said. “I mean, we're almost halfway through the fiscal year.”

I joked with Bullet about what his office will look like if they furlough since 1/2 of the office are GSs. This will also frustrate his counterpart who has put in his retirement papers.

Plus side there will be no traffic on 95/395/495 and 66, so those AD members won't have that 1 hr commute for 20 miles, and now can sleep later.

 

[MemberLG]

Some insights to the furlough process

- "mission essential" personnel will be exempted
- it doesn't have to be just one period, it could be one day per week.
- it doesn't save the whole salary as the government still have to pay most of the benefits (i.e. health insurance)
- cannot take leave during furlough.