The stopgap spending bill approved by Congress last week will delay for a couple of weeks the start of a planned one-day-a-week furlough for nearly 1,000 Florida National Guard personnel.
The Florida National Guard was prepared to mail notices last Thursday to 993 members of the guard that they would see a 20 percent cut in pay as part of the furloughs that are to be part of the automatic spending cuts that went into place March 1. However, the letters were delayed until April 5 as the spending measure, expected to be signed by President Obama this week, gives the National Guard flexibility in how to allocate its required 12 percent spending cuts, said Florida National Guard spokesman Lt. Col. James Evans.
With recent deployments, the number of Guard personnel facing furloughs has fallen to 967 and that amount could be further reduced as the Pentagon reallocates how the cuts will be imposed, Evans said.
The delay doesn’t lessen concerns regarding the Guard’s strength during Florida’s wildfire and hurricane seasons. At the least, the delay will lessen the impact of the furloughs by pushing back the start time. The end of the furloughs will remain the end of September.
