Two members of Connecticut?s congressional delegation praised the Pentagon Tuesday night for its decision to reduce the number of days that civilian defense contractors will spend on unpaid leave as part of federal spending cuts.
The move means that 650,000 civilian employees across the country will have to take only six days off this year. That?s a reduction from the 11 days that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel had called for in May after the Pentagon was ordered to trim its spending by $37 billion this year.
Those spending cuts?known around Washington as ?sequestration??were imposed under a law that Congress passed to end the last major ?debt ceiling standoff two years ago.
The law called for automatic cuts to defense and domestic spending if lawmakers couldn?t agree how to cut it themselves by the end of 2011 (they couldn?t).
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Congressman Joe Courtney both praised Hagel?s decision Tuesday, in statements that you can read after the jump. But both of them also criticized the defense spending cuts as harmful to Connecticut contractors and their families.
Courtney said the House Speaker John Boehner should call the House back from its August recess to pass a budget that ?turns off? the sequester.
Interestingly, Courtney and Blumenthal both voted to pass the 2011 law that creates the current sequestration situation:
Via GovTrack.US: The House vote to pass the bill (8/1/2011) and the Senate vote (8/2/2011). Image compiled by Wes Duplantier/The Hartford Courant.?
?This furlough reduction is welcome news not only for hardworking Defense Department employees, but also for our national security and defense,? Blumenthal said. ?I pressed for this reduction in furlough days because it was unfair and unfortunate for military readiness. I am hopeful that such shortsighted supposed savings can be avoided in the future because they deprive essential employees of both work and wages. I have met with military technicians in New London whose furlough days not only make it harder to pay bills and support their families, but also undermine helicopter maintenance repair in Connecticut, but across the country. I will continue to push for a balanced compromise that will mitigate furloughs and end the harmful impact of sequestration.? ?
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?Today?s announcement is a much-needed dose of relief for hard working civilians in Connecticut and around the country who help protect our nation,? Courtney said. ?Finding savings throughout the defense budget to reduce furloughs will help restore critical workdays so that the mission of the SUBASE, the Connecticut National Guard?s TASMG in Groton and Naval Undersea Warfare Center ?can move forward.
?Although the reduction of furlough days is welcome news, this announcement does not end the harm sequester is inflicting on DOD employees and their vital missions ? and on critical domestic services such as Head Start and NIH, among many others. Speaker Boehner should cancel the recess and immediately complete work on a budget which turns off sequester once and for all and reduces the federal budget deficit in a reasonable and thoughtful way.?
?I want to salute leaders in Connecticut like Robert Faulise with the National Association of Government Employees and Adam Puccino with the Metal Trades Council who helped raise public awareness back home on the negative impact of sequestration on our military readiness and our communities in Connecticut.? I will continue to work closely with them to keep pressure on in Congress to find the political will to end these unnecessary and self-inflicted cuts to our defense capabilities and our economy.?
Source: http://courantblogs.com/capitol-watch/and-speaking-of-fights-over-the-debt-limit/
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