State Department meets sequester goals without furloughs

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

No sequester furloughs at State Department

WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite budget cuts requiring most federal agencies to furlough workers, the State Department says it will not have to force any of its employees to take unpaid leave.

State's top management official said Friday that the budget sequester cut for the department would be only $400 million, less than half of $850 million that was originally estimated.

Because of that and other cost-saving measures already implemented, Patrick Kennedy, undersecretary of state for management, said department employees both in the United States and abroad would be spared furloughs at least until the end of the current budget year.

The department has cut back on spending by reducing travel and conference expenses, filling only one of every two new job vacancies and adjusting building temperatures, he said.

http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/news-politics/20130503/US-Spending-Cuts-Diplomacy/

Amazing. It can be done.

[himher 634]

Yep

[GandD 5,966]

I don't like the irresponsible way this was accomplished but I'm glad govt agencies were forced to reconsider their budget. Private businesses have to do it all the time.

[CarlosAndSveta 808]

Amazing. It can be done.

I am happy for the State Department employees but not all agencies are the same. I work for the IRS and we have been officially notified that we will be furloughed a minimum of five days and maybe up to seven days. Here is an article about how the sequester is affecting the IRS and the Federal budget.

http://www.cjr.org/united_states_project/honey_i_shrunk_the_irs.php

[himher 634]

I am happy for the State Department employees but not all agencies are the same. I work for the IRS and we have been officially notified that we will be furloughed a minimum of five days and maybe up to seven days. Here is an article about how the sequester is affecting the IRS and the Federal budget.

http://www.cjr.org/united_states_project/honey_i_shrunk_the_irs.php

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/irs-star-trek-video-cited-waste-money-article-1.1297140

http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2013/02/tigta-irs-wastes-.html

http://www.weartv.com/news/features/waste-watch/stories/new-audit-shows-irs-wastes-tax-dollars-employee-perks-88.shtml

I apologize if I feel no sympathy. Sorry.

[Karee 4,191]

I wonder if the sequester slowed down the ongoing push to legalize future democrat voters? (DACA)

[CarlosAndSveta 808]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/irs-star-trek-video-cited-waste-money-article-1.1297140

http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2013/02/tigta-irs-wastes-.html

http://www.weartv.com/news/features/waste-watch/stories/new-audit-shows-irs-wastes-tax-dollars-employee-perks-88.shtml

I apologize if I feel no sympathy. Sorry.

I'm not looking for sympathy. I think the IRS is no different than any other government agency when it comes to waste. My point is that not every agency has the ability to avoid meeting the sequestration without having to furlough employees. The article pointed out that the IRS has had their budget cut by 17% since 2002.

I have one of those aircard mentioned in two of your articles. I received notification two weeks ago that my aircard was going to be deactivated because I hadn't used it in 90 days. I definitely did not consider it a perk. They were issued to us for privacy and security reasons for when we work away from the office. I would have rather had them spend that money on keeping the software on our computers current. The laptop that I use at work is over three years old and it is loaded with Windows XP Professional, Internet Explorer 7, and Microsoft Office 2003.

Edited May 4, 2013 by CarlosAndSveta

[Darnell 8,479]

I wonder if the sequester slowed down the ongoing push to legalize future democrat voters? (DACA)

Not at all, as everting for them is fee based.

PREPAID FEES, at that.

There's notice in the Federal Register about the new hires at CSC and MSC - have you read it ?