Politics & Government
Pentagon Slashes Furlough Days
Civilian employees will now have to take six unpaid days, down from 11.
By Tyler Waldman
Pentagon officials are nearly halving the number of unpaid furlough days required for civilian personnel under budget cuts.
The Associated Press reports the Department of Defense is cutting the number of days required in this fiscal year from 11 to six after administrators found cost savings in later months.
The furloughs had been required due to cuts made under federal sequestration. Recent legislation, however, gave Pentagon officials more freedom to move money between accounts, according to the AP report.
The AP reports that the full 11 furlough days would have saved the federal government $2 billion. Savings include program cuts and a lower-than-expected cost for withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, according to Stars and Stripes.
The furloughs began July 8, impacting more than 650,000 defense workers worldwide, according to the Stars and Stripes report.
Non-civilian military personnel are exempt from the furloughs.
In July, Maryland defense employees spoke to The Baltimore Sun about the furloughs' impact. The furloughs affect more than 30,000 civilian workers in Maryland.
Havre de Grace, near Aberdeen Proving Ground, recently launched a campaign declaring itself a "Furlough Friendly Community."
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