If Congress decides to give you a 10 day furlough, would you want it one-day at a time or in all at once? We asked feds about furlough options and Senior...
If the political push comes to shove would you rather be furloughed for 10 days next year, or get paid to work all 10 federal holidays? And if furloughed would you want it all at one time, as in a 2-week unpaid vacation?
Two of the money-saving items the post-election Congress may consider are a federal pay freeze and the proposal to furlough feds (without pay) for two weeks in 2011.
Earlier this week, we asked folks to comment. And they did. Good stuff as usual.
So would you be willing to bite the bullet, or do you consider holidays an entitlement. And what about all that time off members of Congress take? Let ‘er rip!
“And IMHO, if some of these well-meaning but poorly-led Congressional staffers would stop sending Federal agencies so many inane and silly letters from constituents, we would have more time to get to our legitimate work that needs to be done.” Rob, US Army Corps of Engineers
“The problem with making Feds work on holidays is that we won’t be able to go out and stimulate the economy like we do when we are off and can shop while everyone else is working. The Members of the U.S. Congress don’t go shopping on Federal Holidays, but we do (another reason they should work the Holiday and continue to give us the day off). Seriously, when was the last time Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) went to a Mall? How about Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) ? Seen her at a Baltimore Macy’s anytime recently?
“I would find it contemptible if Congress (and America for that matter) forced rank and file Federal Civil Servants to work on Martin Luther King’s Birthday, Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving or Christmas for God’s Sake! These are ESSENTIAL American/Christian Memorial HOLIDAYS that EVERY member of the US should have, including the Federal work force! If they want to take back Labor Day and Columbus Day, I’d give up two – NOT 10! But first, they need to permanently cut their pay, limit their terms, and furlough themselves.” Mad in Maryland
“By the way, the idea that an unpaid furlough must be non-consecutive days is just plain punitive. It would save the government the exact same amount of money if the employees who wish to do so were allowed to take the furlough as consecutive days. The employees could use the time for elder-care trips, necessary home repair projects, even an outside job if one could be found.
“Congress doesn’t limit their time away from the House or Senate to non-consecutive days. Can we trust that if they pass such a law, they’ll cut their own pay the equivalent of ten days to show their commitment to saving the government money?!” Secret Agent Man
To reach me: mcausey@federalnewsradio.com
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