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Question of the Week: Do you support the administration using taxpayer dollars to re-imburse legal fees to defense companies for failure to comply with the WARN Act?
Posted by Randy | October 12, 2012

The WARN Act (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act) protects workers, their families, and communities by requiring most employers with 100 or more employees to provide notification 60 calendar days in advance of plant closings and mass layoffs.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) wrote a memorandum late last month detailing that the government would compensate contractors for legal costs if layoffs occur due to contract cancellations under "sequestration" on January 2, 2012. The memorandum said that if plant closings or mass layoffs occur under sequestration, then “employee compensation costs for WARN act liability as determined by a court” would be paid for by the contracting federal agency.

Senator McCain estimated that legal fees could total $4 billion and pledged to deny any transfers of defense dollars to reimburse contractors for costs that could have been avoided simply by complying with the WARN Act.

Question of the week: Do you support the administration using taxpayer dollars to re-imburse legal fees to defense companies for failure to comply with the law?

(  )  Yes
(  )  No
(  )  Other (leave your comments below)

Take the poll here.

Find out the results of last week’s instapoll here.
Comments
Users are solely responsible for the opinions they post here and their comments do not necessarily reflect the views of Congressman Forbes.
  • Thomas G commented on 10/12/2012
    Yep I sure do congressman. This is another unfortunate result sir of the unprecedented obstruction conducted by the republican party and your deep involvement in the harmful strategy. I have passionately communicated with you through this blog and in phone conversations with your staff asking that you visibly pressure your party's leadership to simply vote on the Jobs bill, a bill that is fully paid for and legislation the CBO reports will create 1 MILLION jobs. You have done NOTHING sir. You have absolutely done nothing on this issue that has harmed your district and your country and led to a deepening deficit situation. You have acted to increase the deficit, by over 100 billion dollars by repealing CBO certified health care cost containment meausres. You even voted, shockingly, to shove this great nation into default, in direct conflict with the constitution. You sir are on the Judiciary committee! Congressman Forbes, your very extreme record has harmed our country in many ways. How could you act to harm the very private sector you claim you support? But that is exactly what you did with the default vote. It just doesn't stop there sir. You were sent to congress with a balanced but during your tenure, aligning with the election of President Bush, you share responsibility for nearly 10 TRILLION dollars in new debt. You acted to funnel billions of dollars in tax cuts for the wealthy and they utterly failed to produce the growth you insisted the policy would provide. The theories you champion have all been widely discredited over the past year. We've seen you get involved in challenging the 'NON-discrimination policy of a university. We've witnessed your cosponsorship of HR3 that attempted to redefine rape. We've seen you force the defense department to spend millions of dollars on ship maintenance for ships they told you they didn't need or want to service. That is the epitome of irresponsible action. I almost fell out of my chair when I watched you on CSPAN question Secretary Penetta about the War Powers Act. Your demeanor in this question clearly came across as if you had no understanding whatsoever as to what the answer actually is. I thought to myself, is this an old clip, because your language seem incredibly familiar. So I researched this and low and behold, you acted in the same way and put forth the same question a year earlier with Secretary Gates. Why were you not listening the first time to essentially the same answer sir? I felt you were totally unprepared for that hearing and wasted your time when so many other issues should have been raised with the Secretary. I realize you did not vote for sequestion, but why would you not be making national headlines to get this problem solved. Every member of congress should be doing this. Your district did not elect the Speaker sir. Do you know who your boss is? It is the people who sent you to Washington Congressman Forbes. Everyone in Virginia understands the ramifications of sequestration, for a year now we have been concerned about this. Do you not think you should be leading nationally on this matter? How can you guys recess in August, not conduct a town hall meeting during your entire term in your hometowm, return to Washington for a week or two and then recess again, at the earliest date in 50 years, and NEITHER time work on the Farm bill in the middle of historic drought? I'm just at wits end wondering how you can face the district after voting AGAINST the middle class tax cut and for tax cuts that are breaking the backs of the middle class you want for millionaires and billionaires? How can we possibly have confidence in you when you want to repeal essential regulations on the financial industry, changes supported by the Federal Reserve to address issues that helped to create the financial mess in the first place. Was the failure of 1000 banks not of concern to you? Was the loss of trillions in retirement savings a blip on your radar? Time after time Chairman Bernanke has warned this congress to act on fiscal matters and we get no progress. Look Congressman Forbes, I don't know why you refuse to rescind that ridiculous Grover Norquist blackmail pledge, but you have utterly surrendered the capacity to perform for the district. Here you are on the judiciary committee and you have been completely silent on the spread of troubling voter suppression efforts spreading across the nation. Court after court have been shutting down these horrible laws. Don't you think you should have queried the district on how your own voters feel on this matter? You need to pay the bill sir, if you refuse to work with your colleagues to prevent harming your country. Then you need to communicate to your leadership that you need to act on jobs, act on the farm bill, act on the sequestration and explain to the people of Chesapeake why you REFUSE to support the Password Protection Act that prevents employers from demanding passwords to online web sites such as Facebook, and perhaps bank or credit report, who know. What on earth is the compelling reason you will not support his legislation?
  • Gregg J commented on 10/13/2012
    Sequestration has been looming on the horizon for a year. Contractors failing to prepare does not constitute a fiscal emergency on the part of the taxpayers. Do not pay defense contractors one dime.
  • Timothy Kirkbride commented on 10/15/2012
    In a general I would answer no to this question. However, like in civil suits if the contractor is found not to be in violation of the WARN Act he should be entitled to recoup his legal fees from the party that brought the suit.
  • J D commented on 10/15/2012
    I am continually amazed at the lawlessness of this administration.
  • William Byrd commented on 10/15/2012
    I believe that the companies should comply with the law. It does not matter if the President told them to break the law. If they follow the advice from the administration they will be breaking the law.
  • Eugene Cron commented on 10/15/2012
    It simply amazes me that a sitting president would try to protect his political career by asking the private industry not disclose the intent to lay off workers in order to try and make his unsuccessful record look better than it is. Why doesn't the attorney general step up and prevent him from breaking the law? Oh, thats right he just gave him executive priviledge for "Fast and Furious" and has him in his hip pocket. Chicago gangster's in government office is all they are. So my next question is, will you Mr. Forbes and your other constituents step up and prevent him from spending tax payer dollars for legal defense for these companies?
  • Melissa Salah commented on 10/15/2012
    A September report to Congress from the Office of Management and Budget concluded the sequester would trim $101 million from House office salaries and expenses next year and $32 million from Senators' personnel and office expenses, based on fiscal 2012 spending levels. None of the fiscal 2013 appropriations bills have been enacted. Tell us what you're really afraid of Congressman.
  • Earnest Padgette commented on 10/15/2012
    This appears to be a blatently illegal act by the government, to cover the legal expenses companies might incur if they follow government directions to commit yet another blatently illegal act. Where do citizens turn when the government commits illegal acts?
  • Mark DeGaust commented on 10/15/2012
    I agree with Timothy. I think it depends on when the contractor was given notice. If they were notified with time to prepare, then no, the government should not compensate them. If they were not given notice and their failure to comply was simply because the government didn't notify THEM in time, then it should be a matter of what the law provides if the contracting agency is the cause of the violation. I am assuming the law is written well enough that these eventualities were comprehended by it, so this sounds like a legal matter, whether or not we agree with the sequestration process. So, why is this going to the voter?
  • David McAlpin commented on 10/16/2012
    Legal fees no, that would not help the working people that the law was written to protect. If the government terminates a contract and forces a company to violate the WARN act then at most the workers should be compensated. But that compensation should not exceed their salary for the number of unemployed days between their termination and the 60 required for by the WARN act. This would aid the people who suffered a loss and further burden the courts. However if the WARN act does not have an exception for unforeseeable circumstances then it should ever have been passed.
  • Doug Kemerer commented on 10/16/2012
    Isn't it incredible and SO TELLING, that our Congressman must ask if it's is ok that we join in support of an act that would make us complicite in the crime. I dare suggest that the question should be "Do we support, congress ignoring the federal Governments attempt to circumvent the law as they demand business's BREAK THE LAW"! Is it appropriate that we are asked to look the other way while THE PRESIDENT encourages the commital of a crime? ? But then we would have to address how inept our congressmen are! Actually I think congress is absent. I have to wonder do they even exist? There was a time when Congress Impeached someone for such criminal acts. My opinion is that if Congress and the Republicans sit back and let this ride then they are every bit as guilty as the Democrat's. Worse even because they pretend to be the conservatives, pretend to be honest brokers, pretending as both parties do, to be concerned for the people and our nation. Congress and the Republican Party are failures, and have failed the Nation! Answering this poll will accomplish nothing! It's time we start electing independents. I voted for Congressman Forbes but I am looking for his replacement.
  • Rich Reviello commented on 10/23/2012
    Funny Mr. Congressman that you didn't mention how long this practice has been going on. Is it just from this Administration or has it been going on much longer? Your poll questions are a joke, and have been since you started these polls. The problem is Congress plain and simple, Congressman like you who stretch the truth, lobbyist and the newest form of political horse manure the "PAC ADS".
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