The Defense Department is cancelling five of the 11 civilian furlough days that were ordered in May as part of the department’s goal to cut $47 billion in fiscal year 2013 under sequestration.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Tuesday that the department was able to reduce the number of unpaid leave days to six after Congress approved the department’s reprogramming requests.
Moving funds from acquisition programs into daily operations and reduced costs of moving equipment from Afghanistan has also allowed the Pentagon to reduce the furlough days and make adjustments to training and readiness.
Civilian furloughs will start July 8 and are scheduled to end Aug. 17 with employees taking one day of unpaid leave per week, Hagel said.
Hagel added that all furloughs for the Department of Defense Education Activity employees are immediately cancelled.
However, Hagel said the Pentagon will be subjected to an additional $52 billion budget cut if sequestration pushes through in fiscal 2014,
“This represents 40 percent more than this year’s sequester-mandated cuts of $37 billion” Hagel said.
The Pentagon stood to save $2 billion from the 11 furlough days.
