Despite passing the Pay Our Military Act to allow uniformed and civilian personnel in the Defense Department to work and get paid on time during the government shutdown, some lawmakers may take further action after hearing DoD officials are still furloughing civilians deemed to not be directly supporting military actions.
Two House Armed Services subcommittee chairs, Rep. Michael Turner (R-Ohio) and Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), say the act should have allowed all DoD civilians to be excepted from furloughs. Instead, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said that some will be furloughed and others not, depending on the type of work each employee performs. He added the department has a team of lawyers looking at the Pay Our Military Act language to see if there is any way to expand the number of excepted employees.
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| Rep. Michael Turner (R-Ohio). Photo: Turner. |
“We intentionally made it broad so civilians who support the military would be paid,” Thornberry said, adding he is “confused by how this is being interpreted.”
Thornberry said the intention was that anyone supporting the military in any capacity should be allowed to continue working, and that DoD shouldn’t be employing anyone not supporting the military in one way or another, hence the frustration over DoD issuing furlough notices.
Turner spokesman Preston Grisham said that Turner had reached out to Pentagon leadership and the president to request that all civilians be returned to work. If his office does not get the issue resolved quickly, Grisham said Turner would be open to seeking additional legislation with more specific language to ensure an end to the DoD furloughs.