[Vision2020] Military Payday in Jeopardy if Government Shuts Down

[Tom Hansen]

Courtesy of the Army Times.

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April 15 payday in jeopardy if government shuts down
By Rick Maze

With congressional budget nego­tiations barely beyond the finger­pointing
stage over who is respon­sible for the failure to pass a 2011 budget
halfway through the fiscal year, the Defense Finance and Accounting
Service has acknowl­edged that service members may miss their April 15
payday.

Six times since the fiscal year began on Oct. 1, Congress has approved a
temporary extension in funding to keep the government running. But support
for further delay is ebbing, especially among freshman House Republicans
who believe they were elected to cut fed­eral spending.

There is a rough outline of an agreement for a 2011 appropriation that
would cut $73 billion off the Obama administration request, but there is
no agreement on what pro­grams would be cut. And there is resistance among
tea party mem­bers of the House for anything less than the $100 billion in
cuts they promised in November.

“Democrats and Republicans have agreed upon a number on which to base our
budget cuts,” said Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, the Senate Democratic
leader. “Now we have to figure out how to get there.” But in a sign of how
difficult it is to reach a compromise, the parties cannot even agree on
whether there is an agreement.

“There is no agreement,” said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. “Nothing
will be agreed to until everything is agreed to.” Rep. Louie Gohmert,
R-Texas, an Army veteran, is trying to get Congress to guarantee service
members will get paid on time in the event of a shutdown. He is sponsoring
the Ensuring Pay for Our Military Act, which would appropriate money to
cover pay­rolls costs for the active and reserve forces.

His bill would take effect only if it passes the House and Senate, which
congressional aides said is unlikely because it could become a magnet for
other lawmakers eager to attach amendments exempting other programs from
being affect­ed by a shutdown.

The Defense Finance and Accoun­ting Service is mum about what will happen
to military and civilian pay if the government shuts down

— but it is not promising people will be paid on time.

“We do not have a position at this point,” said DFAS spokesman Steven
Burghardt. “We will wait for guidance before telling anyone anything.”
Pentagon draft guidance pre­pared in case government funding lapses says
service members will be expected to report to work but will not be paid
until funding is restored.

The memo, which defense offi­cials said was prepared as a contin­gency
plan, has not been signed and will not be distributed unless a shutdown
occurs.

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change
and the Realist adjusts his sails."

- Unknown