JONES CONTINUES OPPOSITION TO FRC EAST FURLOUGHS

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-3) once again defended the employees of Fleet Readiness Center East against the harmful furlough policy being imposed by the Department of Defense (DoD).  In a letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, Congressman Jones and 24 of his colleagues continued to express concern with the department’s decision not to classify workers at facilities supported by Defense Working Capital Funds as “indirectly funded government employees of the Department of Defense” under 10 USC 129.  The narrow interpretation of the law prevents these individuals from enjoying certain legal exemptions that would disallow them from being furloughed as a result of sequestration. 

Additionally, the letter points out that no direct savings are achieved through the furloughs because Defense Working Capital Funds are designed to be self-sustaining and employees’ salaries are often already included in project funds.  Rather, the resulting delays in project completion will ultimately increase the cost for taxpayers and impede efforts to provide American troops with well-maintained equipment.  In light of these concerns, the lawmakers requested a meeting with Secretary Hagel to fully discuss the furlough policy.

“Allowing this detrimental furlough policy to continue will only prevent the hard-working employees at FRC East and other depots from using funding that they have already received to complete projects that are absolutely necessary to maintain our military readiness,” said Congressman Jones.  “Rather than saving money, it will saddle the taxpayer with excess costs resulting from overtime pay in the future and prove detrimental to our defense capabilities.  Coupled with my legal concerns regarding the classification of FRC East employees, I believe this situation deserves immediate attention from the Department of Defense.”

The coalition also mentioned past actions by the House of Representatives to allow the DoD flexibility in implementing the budget cuts required by sequestration.  Congressman Jones has been central to these efforts, speaking out on several occasions against the use of furloughs for civilian employees and supporting multiple bills to attain equivalent cost-savings through alternative methods.  He also urged President Barack Obama to heed the request of the Secretary of the Navy to eliminate civilian furloughs for the Department of the Navy, an appeal that the president ultimately denied.  Congressman Jones voted against the 2011 bill that created sequestration and has consistently warned against its negative impact on the military.

The full text of the letter to Secretary Hagel is available at the link below.