FACT SHEET: Furlough Notices Slice Oregon Defense Workers' Salaries, Damaging Hardworking Families and Economy

In Oregon, 2,498 defense workers will pay a heavy price for the House Republicans’ dysfunction.

See more at davegranlund.com

(WASHINGTON DC) - The Department of Defense will finish delivering furlough notices to civilian employees this week, and hundreds of thousands of hardworking Americans will pay the price because House Republicans refused to stop the painful cuts known as the sequester – and instead focused on taking their 37th vote to repeal health care reform.

In Oregon, 2,498 defense workers will pay a heavy price for the House Republicans’ dysfunction. House Republicans could have stopped the sequester by closing tax breaks for millionaires and corporate special interests, but they refused to compromise – and now the defense workers of Oregon are facing a cut in their pay.

Defense furloughs are scheduled to begin on July 8 and will continue for the next 11 weeks. Around the country, 750,000 Department of Defense workers will face the furloughs.

Oregon Facts on Defense Furloughs due to Sequestration:

·         $8,269,000 dollars in salary will be lost

·         1,898 Army employees will be affected

·         551 Air Force employees will be affected

·         28 Navy employees will be affected

·         21 Defense civilian employees will be affected

[Department of the Army, "Department of the Army Furlough Impact," 5/23/13; U.S. Air Force, "U.S. Air Force Furlough Summary," 5/23/13; Department of the Navy, "Department of the Navy Furlough Impact," 5/23/13; Department of Defense, "Defense Agencies and Activities Civilian Population and Furlough Exceptions," May 2013]

BACKGROUND

Washington Post: 750,000 DOD Employees To Be Furloughed. According to the Washington Post, “Some 750,000 Defense employees face up to 11 days of furlough beginning July 8 owing to automatic budget cuts mandated by sequestration.” [Washington Post, 5/29/2013]

CBO: Sequester Will Halve U.S. Growth in 2013. According to the Wall Street Journal’s MarketWatch, “Fiscal tightening including the automatic budget cuts known as the sequester would cut U.S. growth in half in 2013 if allowed to go into effect, the Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday in a new budget and economic outlook. … CBO said Tuesday that growth would be about 1.5 percentage points faster in 2013 if not for fiscal tightening including the sequester.” [MarketWatch, 2/05/13]

Source: DCCC Press