WASHINGTON, D.C. — Representative Mike Michaud recently joined with his colleagues to send Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel a letter requesting a briefing with him to discuss concerns about to the Defense Department’s ongoing furloughs of civilian employees who are funded through Defense Working Capital Funds (DWCF), which includes Defense Finance and Accounting Services (DFAS) workers in Limestone.
“The implementation of furloughs has been troubling in general, but this specific case demands more explanation,” said Michaud. “My office has been contacted by a number of impacted workers and they’re rightly concerned by these furloughs and how they have been carried out.”
The letter, drafted July 11, was written in response to a July 5 letter by Under Secretary of Defense Robert Hale, who explained how the department had arrived at its conclusion to furlough civilians at DWCF installations out of necessity.
“We are concerned that the Department’s budgetary analysis fails to address the unique nature of how these employees are funded and neglects the long-term impact that this decision will have on our national security and civilian defense workforce,” the letter reads. “Furthermore, we would like a greater understanding of the legal justification that interprets Section 129 of Title 10 of the United States Code as permitting the Department to impose short-term furloughs of indirectly funded government employees.”
