District 8 Congressman Applauds Recall of Furloughed Civilian Defense Employees

The congressman for the 8th District, which includes the Marine Air Ground Task Force Combat Center at Twentynine Palms, Fort Irwin National Training Center, and the Naval Air Weapons Station at China Lake, on Monday applauded the defense secretary's weekend announcement that he will recall almost all of 350,000 furloughed civilian defense employees.

The Defense Department's announcement on Saturday came as the House of Representatives voted unanimously to provide back pay to all furloughed federal workers once the government shutdown ends, the Wall Street Journal reported Oct. 6.

Last week, Congress passed the "Pay Our Military Act" to give the Secretary of Defense latitude to decide which Defense Department civilians would be exempt from furloughs during a government shutdown, according to Rep. Paul Cook, R–Yucca Valley.

The law also ensured funding for the Armed Forces, including active duty reserves, Cook and his staff said Oct. 7 in an announcement.

Initially, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel interpreted the law narrowly, resulting in significant furloughs, according to Cook and his staff.

Hagel then consulted with the Department of Justice to re-determine which "civilian and contractor positions provided support to members of the Armed Forces in active service" and as a result, over the weekend he re-ordered many furloughed workers back on the job, according to Cook and his staff.

"I'm glad to see that Secretary Hagel has put our civilian defense employees back to work," Cook said Monday. "Their work is essential to supporting our troops and protecting our national security."

Cook remains concerned the "Pay Our Military Act" is too vague. Last week he introduced H.R. 3232, the "Support Our Armed Forces Act," to ensure all Department of Defense employees would stay on the job during any government shutdowns during this fiscal year.

Locally, the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms had furloughed more than 1,200 civilian employees.

Cook is a member of the House Armed Services, Foreign Affairs and Veterans' Affairs committees. He served as an infantry officer and retired after 26 years as a Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps.