Iowa National Guard members face 11 unpaid furlough days

DES MOINES – Federal “sequestration” budget cuts are taking aim at the Iowa National Guard.

Guard spokesman Col. Greg Hapgood said Wednesday about 1,100 military federal technicians – many on dual status with the state guard and the federal Department of Defense – will be required to take 11 unpaid furlough days.

The time without pay will be one day per week for 11 consecutive weeks beginning July 8 through Sept. 30 when the federal fiscal year ends, he said. Affected guard members were notified this week.

“The one fortunate thing is we've had a lot of forward warning here,” said Hapgood. “Originally, it was proposed for 22 days, so it's positive in the respect that the number of furlough days has been cut in half since it was first discussed at the beginning of the fiscal year.”

The impact will be statewide given the Iowa National Guard has facilities in 43 Iowa communities, but Hapgood said the majority of the furloughed personnel are located at air bases in Des Moines, Fort Dodge and Sioux City, the guard's joint forces headquarters and Camp Dodge in Johnston.

“We're going to do everything within our power to minimize the impact on our men and women and to continue to execute our mission as we always do,” Hapgood said, but added that “ultimately it could slow down some of our processes” such as responding rapidly to flooding or other situations.

“It's possible there could be some delays,” he added, “but we feel pretty confident we can continue to perform any of those types of domestic response missions at the same level that we always do, we're just going to have to work harder at it.”

Earlier this year, state officials projected program reductions in Iowa caused by the federal budget sequestration likely would total about $46.5 million and hit education reading programs, public health areas and workforce development areas the hardest.

David Roederer, director of the state Department of Management, said initial reviews indicate about 236 positions that are funded with federal money could be impacted with the potential for employee furloughs or permanent layoffs. The breakdown of current year funding reductions included $14.1 million for education, $8.75 million for public defense, $4.32 million for human rights and $4.25 million for vocational rehabilitation.

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