Family Research Coucil
Apparently, it's not enough that President Obama ignores the law--now he's encouraging government contractors to join him! Desperate to cushion the blow of next year's Defense cuts, the administration is asking companies not to warn their staffs about impending layoffs until after the election. By law, employers like Lockheed Martin have to give workers at least 60 days' notice of potential cutbacks. And in the Pentagon's case, those cutbacks are severe. Under last year's budget deal, the military alone is scheduled to take a half-trillion dollar hit on January 2. Now, instead of dealing with the fallout, the administration is trying to hide the painful reality from voters that thousands more will be out of work.
In exchange for post
Meanwhile, officials at OMB insist that the President won't kill any major defense contracts when the cuts go into effect--a promise that House Armed Services Chair Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) says they have no business making. "Let me be clear," he told reporters, "Neither the OMB guidance nor the Lockheed decision will protect a single defense industry job if sequestration occurs in January." Like most Americans, Rep. McKeon is absolutely flabbergasted that any President would urge companies to break the law and then have the audacity to stick taxpayers with the bill! "I will do everything in my power to make sure not one taxpayer dollar is spent reimbursing companies for failure to comply with WARN Act," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told The Hill newspaper. "That is so beyond the pale--I think it's patently illegal."
Of course, it doesn't take a genius to understand the political calculus at work. Virginia, in addition to being a swing state, is home to several big defense contractors like Lockheed Martin. With the President significantly trailing in military support, he can't afford to lose civilians too. One has to wonder, though, how many people will be impressed by a man who puts his own career ahead of the security of thousands of families. In fact, it's conspiracies like these that highlight who really deserves the pink slip!
On Monday, conservative senators were out in full force, trying to put these payoffs in perspective. "Apparently, President Obama [is putting his own reelection] ahead of American workers by denying them adequate time to plan their finances and take care of their families." In the end, I think most Americans would agree: President Obama should layoff the corruption--not U.S. workers.
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