Speak Out: Did the Furloughs Fizzle?

by Beth Lawton

Earlier this month, the Washington Post ran an article saying while furloughs have hit federal government workers due to sequestration, it’s not the gloom and doom that the Obama administration was predicting.

“Sequestration did hit, on March 1. And since then, the $85 billion budget cut has caused real reductions in many federal programs that people depend on. But it has not produced what the Obama administration predicted: widespread breakdowns in crucial government services,” according to the article.

More furloughs kicked in July 1.

But while it’s not a widespread breakdown in government services, are furloughed workers being heard?

In a recent blog on Old Town Alexandria Patch, furloughed Environmental Protection Agency worker expressed frustration:

“I am tired of reading in news outlets about ‘no impact’ from the furloughs,” wrote Martha Shimkin as she volunteered to repair an Old Town waterfront park for the second time on yet another furlough day with fellow furloughed workers. “Thousands of workers are out thousands of dollars.”

“You start to think no one cares until passersby offer their encouragement and thanks,” said Lou D’Amico, another furloughed EPA fed.

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) in a floor speech last week highlighted the plights of three federal furloughed workers, including a Fairfax County woman who said she had to decide between paying for groceries or paying for childcare.