Furlough Thread

[James48843]

There are a couple other threads already started about furloughs - or the potential of furloughs.


I'd like to use THIS THREAD to post factual furlough information links, and federal employee related news threads and opinion pieces, to help keep employees informed as to what is happening for furloughs.

If your agency posts stuff, feel free to link it here. And /or if you see a good article about the possibility of a furlough, link that here as well.


I'll start:


Here is a link to a Mike Causey piece over on Federal News radio this morning, with some interesting commentary about the possibility of furloughs kicking in:

Furloughs: So, who's in charge? - FederalNewsRadio.com

Enjoy.

[James48843]

And here is OPM guidance about possible administrative furloughs.

OPM updated this information last month:

Furlough Guidance

and Supplemental Guidance:

http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-overs...-furloughs.pdf

[James48843]

White House: President Obama Making Statement At 1:15 PM ET

Source: TPM



DAVID TAINTOR 10:59 AM EST, TUESDAY FEBRUARY 5, 2013

The White House updated the press schedule for President Obama Tuesday, adding a statement at 1:15 p.m. ET from the President in the briefing room. Reports indicate that Obama will call on Congress to delay the automatic spending cuts scheduled to take effect in March.

-30-

Read more: White House: Obama Making Statement At 1:15 PM ET | TPM LiveWire

---

OBAMA SEEKS TO AVOID SEQUESTER WITH SHORT-TERM FIX
By JIM KUHNHENN

— Feb. 5 11:17 AM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama will ask Congress to come up with tens of billions of dollars in short-term spending cuts and tax revenue to put off the automatic across the board cuts that are scheduled to kick in March 1.

Obama will make his request afternoon in a public statement at the White House.

The automatic cuts, if they are allowed to proceed, could require widespread layoffs and indiscriminately affect defense programs and domestic spending accounts.

Obama will ask for a targeted way to reduce the deficit in the short term, perhaps several months. White House officials said that Congress needs more time to work out a 10-year plan worth more than $1 trillion in deficit reduction. Obama is not placing a time span or a dollar amount on the short-term plan. Officials said he will leave that to Congress.

Let's hope they come up with something that prevents sequestration furloughs....

[Bquat]

Got word from a friend in my last organization that they are going to try 4 eight hours days a week instead of ten hour days to keep from furloughs. I retired from DOD.

[craigerv]

We at the Navy (civilian) have received guidance that the current deal on the table would reduce our work week by one day for 22 weeks. Personally, I think I'd rather have 22 days in a row so I could do something with that time, but Fridays will do. Obviously this could all change if congress passes a budget.

[James48843]

... Obviously this could all change if congress passes a budget.

This one isn't the budget- it's the debt ceiling. We have budget authority to last for a while. It's the debt ceiling that won't permit the government to borrow any more money to pay the bills it's already approved to be spent.

The President signed the debt ceiling extension bill this morning. We now have until May 18th before the authority to pay the bills expires.

http://www.govexec.com/pay-benefits/...oref=top-story

After that- all bets are off.

[FAB1]

I dont care about the facts. Point me to the wild rumor and mindless gossip threads please.

Actually, I will be lucky not to get a full lay-off sometime this year. Maybe I can post here more!

[Fran1775]

I work full time for the army And we also will be going to 4- 8 hour days for 22 weeks.

I also like the possibility of doing 20 something days off in a row. It seems pointless to take 1 day a week away from us to try to pay for things. I don't believe that it will run the government for more than a day but regardless I am along for the ride with 4 years left until retirement.

Keep up the good work and I'll keep reading!

[RealMoneyIssues]

Looking forward to the extra work one day a week !! Civ:Mil 3:1 or more here...

I may just put the phones on 'out of office' and lock the SCIF doors (doorbell, what doorbell?)...

[burrocrat]

omg! i think i just figured out what spending cuts, the debt ceiling, and sequestration have in common! all three never happen!

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=Ect-k...%3DEct-kgxBb4M

as compared to additional revenue which we all know is real. silly muppets.

[Buster]

I think it would be better served to go back and worry about 12-21-12 again..it at least was based on facts....

[James48843]

We (in FAA) got this yesterday from Dept of Transportation:

Dear Colleagues,

As you are likely aware, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 delayed until March 1, 2013, the across-the-board spending cuts (also known as “sequestration”) that face all Federal agencies. The Administration remains focused on working with Congress to reach agreement on a balanced deficit reduction plan that avoids these cuts. Should these cuts occur, they would be harmful not only to the Department of Transportation, but to critical domestic and defense priorities across the government and across the country.

However, given that less than one month remains until these cuts would take effect and given that the delay enacted by Congress would give us less time in which to make the required cuts, Secretary LaHood and I, along with the rest of our senior leadership team, are engaged in extensive planning efforts to determine how we would deal with sequestration. I know many of you have questions, so I wanted to take this opportunity to provide some additional details.
In planning how to implement a possible sequestration, our guiding principle is to protect our ability to perform our mission on behalf of the American people. As public servants, this is our first and foremost responsibility.

To this end, we are carefully considering how to use the various tools at our disposal to reduce costs in order to mitigate as much as possible the disruption to our operations, our programs, and all of you. We will use any and all flexibilities we have to protect our core operations and mission. However, our ability to do so will be limited by the rigid nature of the cuts imposed by Congress. As a result, we are closely examining contracts, grants, and other forms of expenditures across the Department to determine where we can reduce costs. In many cases, this could mean making cuts to vital programs or curtailing spending on contracts. We also will take steps, wherever possible, to cut operational or administrative costs in areas such as travel, training, facilities, and supplies.


We may also have to consider placing employees on temporary furlough, or taking other personnel actions, should sequestration occur. With respect to furloughs, should we have to pursue this unfortunate course of action, let me assure you that all affected employees would be provided at least 30 days notice prior to executing a furlough, or as required by collective bargaining agreements. We also will continue to engage in discussions with employee unions as appropriate, to ensure that any furloughs are applied in a fair and appropriate manner. If you have questions on this issue, I would encourage you to go to the Office of Personnel Management website, which has helpful information and answers to frequently asked questions regarding furloughs (found at www.opm.gov/furlough, under the “administrative furlough” section).
Your modal Administrator or OST Director will be following up in the near term with additional information regarding our initial plans for implementation of sequestration, and how these plans will affect the day-to-day operations of the Department.

Thank you for your patience as we navigate these difficult issues, and for all that you do for DOT and the American people.

John Porcari

Deputy Secretary