Bipartisan amendment introduced by Loebsack added to Defense Appropriations bill
Washington, D.C. - Late last night, Congressman Dave Loebsack's bipartisan amendment to prohibit furloughs of civilian employees like those at the Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center who are funded through Defense Working Capital Funds (WCF) was added to the 2014 Department of Defense Appropriations Act. WCF employees are not directly funded by the Department of Defense. Instead, they are funded through sales revenue, including revenue from prior years. As a result, furloughing these employees does not create direct savings for the Department of Defense. Loebsack's amendment would address the situation of men and women working at the Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center at Rock Island Arsenal who are WCF employees. Loebsack has long opposed all furloughs and voted against sequestration, which created these pay cuts. He has pushed Congress and the Administration to find a balanced, commonsense way to replace sequestration and responsibly deal with the fiscal situation facing the nation. He also supported an amendment that was included in the legislation to ban all furloughs for Department of Defense employees.
"It is unconscionable that the dedicated men and women who work at Rock Island Arsenal are being forced to take a pay cut because of Washington's dysfunction. I opposed the creation of sequestration and I oppose the decision to furlough any dedicated individuals who work every day on behalf of our troops and national security," said Loebsack. "What's more, furloughing folks like those at the Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center doesn't even create direct savings for the Department of Defense. I am opposed to all furloughs and will continue to fight to eliminate them. I am glad my bipartisan amendment was supported by the House to address the unique situation of folks like those at JMTC and to send a strong signal of support to all Rock Island Arsenal employees."
Video of Loebsack speaking on his amendment can be found here.
###
