WASHINGTON – Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney (D, Cold Spring) asked President Obama and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel to reduce the impact of sequestration on civilian employees.
The lawmaker’s request came in a letter to both officials in support of legislation to give more flexibility to the Pentagon on sequestration cuts and to shift more than $10 billion into Pentagon operations and maintenance accounts.
“It requests that the Defense Department use as much discretion as it can to avoid hurting people with sequester cuts,” Maloney said. “We know that 2,000 employees at West Point will be affected by sequestration; that means furloughs. Another 400 folks will be affected at the Stewart Air National Guard base. These are real cuts that are going to hurt real people.”
Maloney told the Washington officials that, “In these difficult economic times, I know that we all must make sacrifices. But our middle class has made enough sacrifices; our federal workforce has made enough sacrifices; our military and seniors have made enough sacrifices; the safe and students at West Point have made enough sacrifices.”