Secretary Gates recently warned that because Congress has not passed legislation to fund the war on terror in fiscal year 2008 (which began October 1), the Department of Defense is being forced to plan furloughs for civilian personnel. To that end, Army Vice Chief of Staff General Richard Cody has ordered top officers at all Army bases to provide detailed plans on how to trim excess spending and replace civilians with troops. Cody directs the bases to work under the assumption that furloughs will begin on or about February 23. Since civilian employees are entitled to 60 days advance notice, they’ll get their furlough warnings on December 25–more or less. Fedblog reprints the text of the memo.
Congress will be under the gun in the days before Christmas to pass the normal fiscal year 2008 appropriations bills, energy legislation, a FISA reauthorization, and other priorities. There will be no greater pressure however, than to pass legislation to fund the war on terror. And considering that the Democratic defense amounts to saying ‘but we already funded it,’ it’s hard not to imagine them backing down on this one. Nevertheless, expect war opponents in Congress and the MoveOn crowd to scream like stuck pigs. As a result, the war on terror funding is likely to be added as late as possible, in broad omnibus legislation that’s hard to oppose. Meanwhile, how are things going in Iraq? Glad you asked: 6,000 Sunnis Join Pact with U.S., Convoy of Returning Refugees Arrives, UB, Iraq University Sign Deal. The only real question is whether the legislation to fund the war will be accompanied by a return to reality on the part of Congressional Democrats.
