Officials discuss DOD's government shutdown plans

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Officials discuss DOD's government shutdown plans

Posted 4/7/2011

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by Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

4/7/2011 - WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- Military personnel will report to duty as normal if the U.S. government shuts down midnight, April 8, Pentagon officials said April 7.

The department has identified tasks that must continue if or when a government shutdown occurs, said Pentagon spokesman Marine Col. Dave Lapan.

"Who is affected comes down to defining what constitutes operations and activities that are essential to safety, protection of human life and protection of our national security," he said. All military personnel will be "excepted" from shutting down. In addition, certain civilian employees, who work on crucial duties, also will be excepted.

The Department of Defense will continue to conduct activities in support of U.S. national defense and national security. This includes operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Japan and Libya and related support operations. The department also will conduct other operations and activities considered essential to U.S. national security, Colonel Lapan said.

Other excepted activities include in-patient and essential out-patient care in DOD medical treatment facilities, emergency dental care, non-appropriated fund activities such as mess halls and child care facilities, certain legal activities to support on-going litigation and legal assistance for deployed U.S. personnel, contracting and logistics operations that are in support of activities that are considered excepted, certain training and education activities to include the Department of Defense Education Activity schools and financial activities necessary to ensure the control and accountability of funds.

"In the absence of appropriations, not excepted activities that have not been fully funded will need to be shutdown in an orderly fashion," Colonel Lapan said. If there is a government shutdown, leaders will inform employees how the shutdown affects them personally.

Military personnel are not affected by a furlough and will report for duty as normal. Civilian personnel that are deemed to be performing excepted activities will continue to work during the period.

If the government has to shut down due to a lack of funding, the DOD will have no funds to pay military members or civilian employees for the time the government is shut down. However, both military and civilian personnel will receive pay for the period worked prior to the shutdown.

"In general, if the government shuts down -- for however long it shuts down -- there are no funds appropriated to pay government employees," said Doug Wilson, the assistant secretary of defense for public affairs. "If you are required to work -- as all men and women in uniform are required to work -- then there is a legal obligation to ultimately pay those men and women. When that would happen would be timed to the restoration of appropriated funds."

Once funds restart, military personnel and all civilians occupying excepted status positions are entitled to be paid for the work performed during the shutdown, "and they will be paid retroactively," Colonel Lapan said.

DOD personnel who do not work during the shutdown will not get paid, he said.

"However, in past instances Congress has appropriated funds to pay those civilians," Colonel Lapan said.

Comments

4/8/2011 1:57:37 PM ET
Congress CAN GO WITHOUT PAY AND THEY CAN AT LEAST PAY THE ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY

Bill, Holloman.af.mil

4/8/2011 1:43:39 PM ET
Let's think about the overall consequences of all parties' actions if the Government shuts down. Personally all parties are to blame for the mess our Nation is in; you will have your opinion and I will have mine. With that each Representative has their own personal agenda regardless of their political affiliation and will only vote upon what they feel is going to benefit them in the long run so they can continue to receive the power from that elected office. In the long run shutting down the governement has significant effects not only upon the overall economy other areas to include confidence in our elected officials. The major cuts certain parties wish to cut are concerning think of it this way... If you gain 30 lbs in the course of the winter you are not going to lose it in a single day. They need to be responsible in drawing back with the Federal spending but perform it in measured increments.

TSgt USAF, DC

4/8/2011 1:29:34 PM ET
The United States is the best country in the world. I'm lucky to have been born here and it's been an honor to serve in the AF and receive the wonderful support from Americans no matter where I am in the world or what I'm doing. Let's all just hope that the politicians make the right decisions to preserve the greatness of this country for generations to come.

God bless the USA, AFB

4/8/2011 12:31:27 PM ET
We can make all the plans to deal with a shutdown and on and on. The bottom line is our Congressional leaders -- all of them -- KNEW this was a possibility that troops and their families would be affected by a shutdown. Why are they punishing the troops? Do the troops and their families not sacrifice enough....a sacrifice that could even mean giving one's life. To say this is unfair...and borderline malicious is an understatement. Blame political parties and have ideology, but all those in Congress need to know they are creating an unnecessary burden on people who have been overburdened already.

MSgt Concerned, IL

4/8/2011 12:22:30 PM ET
Our military will be placing themselves in harms way and receiving no pay until Congress passes a budget; however, Congress is trying to pass a bill so that their pay will be continued during a government shutdown. Congress and the President have denied civil service pay raises for the next 2 years and are considering extending to 5. However, Congress approved them a pay raise. Congress should have passed a budget by 30 Sep 2010. Congress is still working a 2011 budget when they should be working to complete a 2012 budget by this Sep 30. Just think what will happen again next FY. Where is our leadership? If we in the military and civil service performed our jobs in similar fashion we would have been released long ago.

William Rouse, Randolph AFB

4/8/2011 12:15:29 PM ET
My hubby has put in over 19 years into the military and it may now come to him not getting paid...Our government really need to get on the ball and get this settled. People depend very much on these paychecks.

USAF Dependent, Turkey

4/8/2011 12:08:48 PM ET
@AF TSgt Bolling AFB - Don't mean to pile on. But you kind of had a put your foot in your mouth moment. The Democratic party owned all three houses of power last year and yet still didn't or couldn't pass a budget. You may want to aim your blame at them for a minute or two.

Can read the Constitution, Arizona

4/8/2011 12:02:22 PM ET
First I will start by saying yes this is a bad situation but then again let me say... go stand outside of your base gate and watch all the cars pass by leaving the base... what do you see? About 80 percent are nice vehicles - lexus, mercades, escalades. We should always get paid for bustin day in day out, but at the same time we need to look at ourselves too. We as a whole live outside of our means. We should be able to sustain ourselves at least a month or two, if not then maybe you should start looking at what you are spendng all your money on. I just hope this thing gets passed and we get our money.

SSgt, Nellis

4/8/2011 11:59:48 AM ET
So military will still have to work with no pay? Guess this would happen sooner or later. Today now I get paid slightly higher than average wage to get shot at, mortared and to watch my fellow military members get blown into pink mist for a country that is on a downward spiral and tomorrow Democrats and Teabaggers will succeed in forced slavery. Have the red, white and blue in the flag of the USA ran together? Has the US Government truely become Socialist? This better not effect my next EPR when I'm two months behind on my Star Card.

SSgt, Keesler AFB

4/8/2011 11:54:11 AM ET
I hate the fact that there are 1st term Airmen like myself who have joined the military to better themselves. And I can bet many are like me... Praying and hoping they don't cut our parents hours so that we will have a decent meal and don't have to worry about coming home in the dark later that night. As soon as I thought I was making a big change and that everything will be better for me and my family, LOOK AT THE SUPRISE THAT I GET.

A1C, Mountain HomeAFB

4/8/2011 11:11:46 AM ET
You need to remember to put service before self...not getting paid isn't great, but if that is the only reason you are in the AF you are here for the wrong reasons. None of us were guarenteed a huge paycheck and we know that we are always on call. Try to have some faith in what could happen, and if you don't then just suck it up.

Service Before Self, Travis AFB

4/8/2011 11:09:54 AM ET
I guess they took the whole VOLUNTARY service thing literally, huh? I dread dealing with all the young Airmen who can't pay their bills now. Hopefully First shirts won't come down when they get all the deliquency notices.

TSgt, Kirtland

4/8/2011 11:07:00 AM ET
How about everyone stop bickering about their political affiliation and objectively admit that both sides are to blame. This whole fiasco is proof that our two-party system is broken and that our elected officials are only concerned about their political affiliation and not their constituents. George Washington warned of political factions and this is exactly why.

Johnson, Laughlin

4/8/2011 11:05:02 AM ET
As for the rest of us come on... We've been under a CRA for over 6 months now and given the already polarized nature of the politicians this was not so much as an 'if' as it was a 'when'. There has been plenty of time for you to ensure your rainy day fund was properly stocked for this situation. If you are living outside your means to support yourself for a couple of weeks without pay lesson learned...

Frank, Tinker

4/8/2011 10:46:28 AM ET
For those in uniform, imagine the common Revolutionary War soldiers who routinely went days and weeks without pay due to funding issues with the Continental Congress. Often the officers had to supplement the paymaster's coffers to keep the army from packing it in. If you can't make it a couple of weeks without pay, see your service's aid society or the Red Cross if one isn't available. If it is longer than that, I think we'll all have bigger fish to fry than how to pay the visa bill.

Frank, Tinker

4/8/2011 10:40:02 AM ET
I certainly wouldn't want to be a First Sergeant, Chief or Commander if this boils over. With all the folks in the military that live paycheck to paycheck there will be hundreds of thousands of people applying for Air Force, Army and Navy aid just so they can pay their rent and feed their families. Hopefully we're not going to have to watch families of those deployed go hungry and homeless due to the greed of these overpaid crooked politicians.

USAF TSgt, Nellis AFB

4/8/2011 10:09:25 AM ET
How about this for an idea...since as military personnel we can't sue the federal government, how about we band together and file a class action lawsuit against the Democratic National Committee? Anyone that incurs any form of late fees on their bills can claim those in the suit plus say 500000 per military member for emotional distress. Maybe we can turn the shutdown into a positive and have this be the year the military destroyed the Democratic party. I'm sure the Libertarian Party would be more than happy to become the second largest political party after we bankrupt the democratic party.

1MadTSgt, CONUS

4/8/2011 10:01:04 AM ET
How do I explain to my 7 and 4 yr old kids that we do not have food to eat because the most powerful men and women in the free world are arguing like a bunch of children? Seriously it is just like a couple of 8 yr olds fighting over a seat on the swingset, and what do I tell my debtors when I can't pay them? Does anyone think they will let me pay them RETROACTIVELY without consequence? Please congress do you job. Stop asking us to suffer in silence so you can throw a temper tantrum.

AF SSgt, Mountain Home aFB

4/8/2011 9:51:52 AM ET
The Republicans are not to blame - they put a bill up to fund the pentagon until the end of the year and it didn't go anywhere because the President said he would veto it. The waste in gov needs to be cut back for our children's sake and the fact that the dems don't want to cut another 40B out of a 1.6 Trillion dollar budget is stupidity at its finest.

SGT Payback, MacDill AFB

4/8/2011 9:50:49 AM ET
Hey AF TSgt Last time I checked the democrats had super majorities in both houses of Congress and they had the White House back in September when the budget was supposed to be passed. They could have rammed through whatever budget they wanted when the budget was supposed to be put in place. They didn't do it because they knew their budget would have caused even more damage to them at the polls in November. Get your facts straight before you go spouting off at the mouth. The democrats didn't do their job to try to save their skin. If anyone is to blame it's them. Not the conservatives that are trying desperately to fix our severely damaged country.

1MadTSgt, CONUS

4/8/2011 9:32:39 AM ET
AF TSgt Bolling AFB - I love your one-sided finger pointing perspective. How about we fire them all - Congress the Senate and the CINC. No one should be elected or allowed to run for office unless they've served in the military and truly walked in our shoes. Both parties have their own hidden agendas.

Arctic Warrior, CO

4/8/2011 9:27:05 AM ET
AF TSGT at Bolling - Look at the Dems they don't want to balance the budget and they want our tax dollars to fund elective abortions. Those are the sticking points. It called having principles. Are you really for not balancing the budget and for Americans' dollars going to electively kill babies even if they disagree with it

AF TSgt, Hurlburt Field

4/8/2011 9:23:21 AM ET
Really? You think this is a Tea Party problem? The house senate and White House were all controlled by Democrats in September and October when the budget was supposed to be implemented. They failed to act at all. Now in April the Govt is about to shut down and you want to blame it on the Republicans? Newsflash - CSPAN showed those same Republicans lead an effort to pass a budget yesterday and the President sent it back to them threatening a VETO. That resolution would have funded the Military through September 2011 and kept the Govt open thru the end of April.

K , Barksdale AFB

4/8/2011 9:11:17 AM ET
Not so fast AF TSgt. You can't hang all of this on what you so eloquently quip as extreme right-wing Baggers. If it were not for the left trying to bankrupt this country and writing checks our grandkids and their grandkids can't cash, we would not be here in the first place.

RMA, SA

4/8/2011 9:07:15 AM ET
Are you kidding me? Blaming the Tea Party for tring to cut wasteful spending? They aren't filibustering anything. The democrats are fighting to keep every dollar that the last budget contained. They fought for 4 hours over a 10 million in redundant spending for Public Radio stations. The Republicans introduced a temp bill that would allow for the funding of the DOD until the end of the year and the DEMOCRATS shot it down saying that it would not solve the long term rift between the two parties. Be a little more informed before rifing off on party lines.

Informed Airman, McGuire AFB

4/8/2011 9:07:06 AM ET
While the whole thing sucks, two point to ponder 1. If the last congress -all Dem controlled - had followed the law and submitted a budget we would not be here now. 2. We are broke and to continue without drastic cuts the nation is down the tubes. It will hurt me but it will hurt all of us a lot more if we don't make some serious changes. Everyone wants the nation to prosper but nobody wants to be part of the solution....

GS Wager, Keesler AFB

4/8/2011 9:06:03 AM ET
@ AF TSgt Bolling - Obviously you don't know what is really going on. Out of a 14 trillion federal deficit Reid and his buddies wont compromise on a 'small' 7 Billion budget cut. Its the conservtives who are trying to cut back on the ridiculous spending by Obama/Reid/Pelosi. If the dems would agree to that budget then there would be no shutdown. Although there wouldn't even be discussions about this if the democrat congress would have done their job and passed a FY11 budget in September.

AF Civ, Whiteman

4/8/2011 9:02:03 AM ET
The Democratic party controlled the House of Representatives the Senate and the White House last year. Why didn't THEY pass an FY11 budget by October 1, 2010? Quit the blame game. Every member of congress needs to roll up their sleeves be good stewards of YOUR tax-paying dollars and get the job done.

Eric Carlson, Randolph AFB TX

4/8/2011 8:52:07 AM ET
Yeah, the first thing they should cut from the budget would be the retirement pay for all these Congressmen and Senators who get paid millions of our tax dollars and the people underneath who are actually working get all the budget cuts. And that includes the whole of the Military Forces. Why are we getting the budget cuts when we're paying these people who aren't even doing anything anymore?

SrA, Maxwell AFB Gunter-Annex

4/8/2011 8:47:30 AM ET
So if the government is so worried about our funding and wants to shut down why don't they just pull us out of Afghanistan and Iraq? Just saying they don't want us here, we don't want to be here and it costs millions per year. I have been over here a couple of times and am ready to be home with my family guarding our country.

AF SrA, Afghanistan

4/8/2011 8:34:38 AM ET
I hate not getting a paycheck - but I would hate it worse if the government goes bankrupt and we lose all pay and benefits. Some politicians buy votes through promising to give away money rather than doing what is best for this country. We cannot continue to go into debt to pay for entitlements. This is a time of sacrifice for all of us to do the right thing. Severe cuts are needed for non-essential frivolous spending. Suck it up and support those who are trying to do the right thing. Those who insist on spending us into the grave should be voted out in 2012.

GS-13 , Maxwell AFB

4/8/2011 8:23:32 AM ET
RE AF TSgt Bolling AFB - Why did use the term Teabaggers? That is a derogatory term and is petty name calling. It detracts from your comment. Besides the FY2011 Budget should have been completed before October 1st by the 111st Congress. They did not do their duty and left it to the 112th Congress to complete. If you want to blame someone, blame the 111st Congress for not doing their job.

Skip, WPAFB

4/8/2011 8:21:08 AM ET
Please stop whining and act like a patriot even if it's tough. Nobody is working for free, especially military members. The paychecks will go out once the budget has been passed. And nobody deserves to be paid for work they don't perform. Civil service employees have the most stable jobs in the nation during a recession. While some folks may have to be furloughed for short periods, a good part of the nation has been unemployed for up to 2 years. Those folks would gladly take a short unpaid leave in exchange for your regular pay check. If you are that upset, please feel free to quit and go to work someplace else. And if you want to blame somebody, don't blame Tea Party members. The Democratically controlled Congress could have passed a budget prior to the elections but chose instead to kick the can down the road instead of voting on a budget and letting their constituents see how they planned to deal with our deficit problem. Place the blame where it really belongs.

SMSgt JR, Robins AFB

4/8/2011 7:56:09 AM ET
@ AF TSgt- And the Democrats didn't pass the budget when they controlled the House, Senate and White House. So tell me again how this is all Republicans fault? I don't blame either party - I blame both. At least you are active and will get paid eventually; both my wife and I are GS and face the possibility of losing two paychecks. Quit your whining and do your sworn duty by presenting a professional example for the junior Airmen around you as I did for 25 years of active service and continue as a Civil Servant.

Dan, Rock Island

4/8/2011 7:11:55 AM ET
AF TSgt ... political rhetoric ... the budget in question is THIS Fiscal Year's budget which means it was written by Congress LAST year. Last year you may remember both houses of Congress were presided over by Democratic majorities. YET they could not resolve THEIR budget before the elections. If you want to sling spears make sure you include BOTH sides of the aisle.

AF CMSgt, Germany

4/8/2011 3:52:42 AM ET
Maybe if we weren't in places we have no Constitutional authority to be like Iraq, Afgh, Yemen, Pakistan and now Libya. Congress has the power to declare war not the president. The executive branch has usurped the power of the legislative branch. If we don't wake up to these violations of oath they will persist. We all took an oath to support and defend the Constitution. Pursuant to Article 1 section 8 USCON.

Ryan, CAFB

4/8/2011 3:37:22 AM ET
Dear AF TSgt Bolling AFB - The Democrats that won't agree to a 61 Billion dollar budget cut out of an over 1 Trillion dollar budget are just as responsible for holding this up. Then when the House passed a stop gap bill that only cuts 12 Billion dollars which is barely 1 percent of the entire budget AND that will fund the military for the remainder of the year the President says he will veto it. Get the facts before you accuse those you don't agree with.

SSgt JO, Nellis AFB

4/8/2011 3:04:09 AM ET
Congress broke the law by not passing the budget by Oct 1st of last year knowing elections were coming up, so get your facts straight.

SSgt Adam, AUAB

4/8/2011 3:01:43 AM ET
Hey I have an idea. Let's all be super-melodramatic about this and get all huffy pretending we're not going to get paid for our work. Look, everyone who works in and out of uniform will get paid. People furloughed might or might not get paid for the time they don't work. Everyone's paychecks might be delayed and that's a hardship. But it's a hardship that anyone in any setting might experience. And plenty of people outside of federal service have already done it. Life isn't fair. Who told you it was? It is still an honor and a privilege to serve the American people and the American government as a servicemember or a civilian. If that's not good enough for you then for heaven's sake pull the eject handle. Go take those great high-paying private-sector jobs I'm always hearing about and leave the rest of us to serve our country in peace.

DP, Deployed

4/8/2011 1:30:44 AM ET
AF TSgt Bolling AFB - I am glad you are not an NCO in my Unit with a very one sided attitude like that. Just blame Tea Party Republicans? Wow, what about the other side? You and I and every other member of the military know how we would solve this: Lock all involved in one room and tell them they have XXXX amount of hours to come to a solution that is a compromise. Right now, it is not about that - it is either one way or the other no compromise. Way to make an educated comment.

AJ, HI

4/8/2011 1:13:45 AM ET
I like working for free.... who does not like working for free? Yea right. That is crazy. All the while the people in congress are getting paid. Yea this seems fair.

Gouger, Kadena AFB

4/7/2011 9:40:39 PM ET
This is extremely sad. I am so glad my husband is in Afghanistan dodging bullets for free for the next days weeks or even months. Thank you congress for not doing your job while your getting paid for it...

SSgt CP, MH

4/7/2011 7:36:00 PM ET
I would like to thank everyone who voted for Tea Party Republicans into office this past election. Thank you Teabaggers. You rock. Shut the government down. Don't compromise on anything. Hold your ground. I will thoroughly enjoy not receiving any paychecks because of you extreme right-wing Teabaggers. Thank you. Let's vote for some more Teabaggers in 2012.

AF TSgt, Bolling AFB

4/7/2011 3:51:19 PM ET
DOD personnel who do not work during the shutdown will not get paid...How is it fair to furlough us when we want to be here and we want to work and then deprive us of a paycheck

Caitlin, AFB

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