Hagel Finally Trying to Follow the Law

In a new development on October 5, it appears Hagel has finally directed the DoD to start obeying the law and end the furlough for “most” DoD civilian employees. The thing to watch now is how DoD applies his definition of “most.” Here are a couple excerpts from an article in The Hill:

The Pentagon has ordered roughly 400,000 furloughed civilian employees back to work.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered the worker recall in a department-wide memorandum issued Saturday.

After consulting with the Justice Department and Department of Defense legal counsel, Hagel noted furloughed employees could be brought back to the Pentagon, while still complying with federal guidelines governing the shutdown, according to the memo.

Civilian workers at DOD shown to play a role in the "morale, well-being [and]...readiness" of U.S. forces could be brought back, under federal rules, Hagel wrote.

My congressman had this to say (from the same article):

While supportive of the Pentagon's decision, Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) said the move would have been unnecessary if Obama had not "been playing politics" with civilian furloughs.
The White Houses "should not have furloughed these hard working men and women," Turner said in a statement Saturday.

"They should have been allowed to work through this entire shutdown," the House defense panel member said, adding Obama is using federal workers as "bargaining chips" in the ongoing shutdown stand off with congressional Republicans.

"These men and women are crucial to our country's national defense and I am glad they will be allowed to go back to work this week to support our armed forces," he added.

Here are links to the official documents Hagel put out to end this illegal furlough:

http://www.defense.gov/pubs/Hagel_Cover_Memo_POMA-FINAL.pdf 

http://www.defense.gov/pubs/Memorandum-Pay_Our_Military_Act_Guidance-FINAL.pdf