At some point, sequestration will really be old news. Right now, it seems the drum keeps beating on this story as Department of Defense furloughs began last week. One week down, only ten more to go, right? If only FY2014 wasn’t still hanging in the balance, with Congress yet to make any progress on a budget. Defense secretary Chuck Hagel has called the 2014 cuts “draconian”. Some consider this crying wolf. But FY2014 could begin to further hurt the defense staff that is already feeling low on morale.
Of course, if Representative John Barrow is able to get his billed passed, the president could exempt all defense civilian employees from sequestration. It is a good thought, as perhaps it would force the budget discussion to happen without completely frustrating hard-working military and civilian employees.
Not that federal employees can attend conferences during sequestration, but it does feel a little odd to be asked by conference organizers not to attend a hackers conference, since some of the attendees might feel a little uncomfortable fraternizing with federal employees in the aftermath of Edward Snowden. Understandable? Outrageous? You be the judge.
And the last shout out to sequestration comes from NextGov.com, which reported that the Veteran’s Affair Department spent approximately $2 million on Facebook ads. This is after the State Department spent over $600,000 buying Facebook likes. I think all Defense Department employees just made a collective groan and face palm over the wasted money that could have been spent on jobs and necessary programs.
