[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 112 (Wednesday, July 31, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1172]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


      LETTER TO SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, THE HONORABLE ROBERT F. HALE

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                           HON. JOE COURTNEY

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 31, 2013

  Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, I insert this letter from myself to Under 
Secretary of Defense, the Honorable Robert F. Hale.

     Hon. Robert F. Hale,
     Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), 
         Pentagon,Washington, DC.
       Dear Secretary Hale: Thank you for providing me and members 
     of the Readiness Subcommittee a briefing on the 
     implementation of civilian furloughs at the Department of 
     Defense. I appreciate your first-hand view of the policy and 
     its impacts on our defense civilian workforce and our 
     military readiness, and I benefitted from your candid remarks 
     about the challenges that sequestration continues to present 
     to the department.
       While I continue to believe that the best way to address 
     furloughs and other impacts to our military readiness is for 
     Congress to pass a comprehensive and balanced plan to end 
     sequestration, I also believe that the department must 
     continue to evaluate all options available to it in reducing 
     or eliminating furloughs this year. During our briefing you 
     indicated that the department was evaluating whether 
     additional reductions in furlough days can be made. It is my 
     hope that the department will finish that analysis and make a 
     positive public announcement on that matter as quickly as 
     possible in order to provide furloughed employees the 
     greatest possible certainty as to their financial outlook for 
     the rest of the year.
       Additionally, as I and several of my colleagues mentioned 
     in our session, there are a number of specific aspects of the 
     current furlough policy that continue to frustrate those 
     individuals facing loss of pay through no fault of their own. 
     For example, I believe that the individual military services 
     and agencies can be provided with greater flexibility to pay 
     down or eliminate furloughs under their purview. 
     Additionally, further consideration must be given to the 
     status of dual status technicians and those whose work is 
     funded through the defense working capital funds--both 
     workforces are critical to the day-to-day needs of our 
     military, and I continue to believe that exceptions must be 
     made for these personnel.
       Just this past Saturday, I attended a welcome home event 
     for the 1109th TASMG of the Connecticut National Guard, who 
     spent the last year in Afghanistan providing critical 
     maintenance for our helicopter fleet. Their joy at being home 
     with family was undermined with the reality that nearly a 
     third of the 100 returning members are dual status 
     technicians and therefore hit by furlough. After serving in a 
     war zone away from family, it was a bitter pill for these 
     patriots to lose 20 percent of their pay almost immediately 
     upon return.
       As I also mentioned in our briefing, the department must 
     better quantify and communicate the cuts that have already 
     been made in attempting to avoid furloughs. When I recently 
     met with furloughed personnel at Naval Submarine Base New 
     London, I received many questions about whether the 
     department made any attempts to cut back on contracting for 
     services, returning outsourced work to federal employees and 
     other potential ways to find the savings necessary to reduce 
     or eliminate furloughs. It is my hope that you will provide 
     members of this committee, as well as the workforce at large, 
     with additional information on the extent to which the 
     department has, or plans, to cut in other areas to limit the 
     reach of furloughs.
       Finally, let me thank you for your positive words about the 
     work that our DOD civilians do each and every day in support 
     of the defense of our nation. As you shared in our meeting, 
     one of the most disappointing impacts of the furloughs has 
     been giving our defense civilians the impression that they 
     are not important to or valued by the department, by Congress 
     and by our fellow Americans. That these furloughs, and the 
     greater budget uncertainty at large, is causing long-serving 
     and hard working civilian professionals to question whether 
     they want to stay at the defense department is one of the 
     most insidious impacts of this budget impasse. That is why I 
     hope you and Secretary Hagel will continue to do all you can 
     to reduce or eliminate furloughs, revisit specific unique 
     exemptions, and provide more detailed information about the 
     steps you have, and will continue to take, to limit furloughs 
     through reductions in areas like service contracting and 
     reversing outsourcing decisions.
       Thank you, again, for taking the time to meet with me and 
     my colleagues on the Readiness Subcommittee, and I sincerely 
     thank you for your service to our country in these 
     challenging times.
           Sincerely,
                                                     Joe Courtney,
     Member of Congress.

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