Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the Pentagon is figuring out if it could bring back to work some of its 400,000 civilian employees on furlough because of the government shutdown, the American Forces Press Service reported Tuesday.Karen Parrish writes the Pentagon is examining a law signed by President Barack Obama to protect military pay in order to see if some civilians can return to work.
“It’s a priority that we have, that we’re working on right now. It’s, in fact, the priority in our general counsel’s office,” Hagel said, according to AFPS.
Hagel made the remarks in Seoul during a trip to the Asia-Pacific region for meetings with other leaders.
He received an update on the Pentagon’s shutdown actions during a teleconference with Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter, Comptroller Robert Hale Hale and acting General Counsel Robert Taylor, AFPS reports.
