The military plans to furlough civilian employees and cut all Army and Marine Corps bases to bare-bones operations early next year because of a funding impasse with Congress, according to a memo provided to Politico.Because of Federal law, civilian union workers have to be notified of a possible layoff 60 days in advance which means it will be the union people who get the first layoff announcements. With unions being major Dem supporters, that will put additional pressure on the Dems to pass a clean funding bill without all the histrionics about a scheduled withdrawal.
Democratic leaders accused the Bush administration of using scare tactics, and said they will not be strong-armed into giving the White House a blank check on the war.
In the memo, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates instructs the secretaries and of the Army and Navy to “start appropriate planning to reduce operations at all Army bases by mid-February of next year and all USMC bases by mid-March of next year.”
The plan would leave “bases … all but shut down, only able to provide the most basic safety and security measures for those who reside there,” Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said at a briefing Tuesday afternoon.
“The most immediate impact will be felt next month, just before Christmas, in fact, when we'll begin notifying roughly 200,000 civilians and contractors that we can no longer afford their services; and that, absent additional funding, they will be furloughed, or temporarily laid off, within a matter of weeks,” Morrell said.
“It is imperative that lawmakers reconsider this matter as soon as possible and send the president supplemental funding legislation, free from objectionable policy provisions, in order to insure that we can continue to support our troops and their families, as well as protect our nation's security.”
I'm glad to see Gates playing tough with the Dems. If it's a fight they want, the Defense Department is able to give it to them.
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