Well, folks, the Treasury Department, unlike the House of Representatives, is getting their ducks in a row. They know that a loss of funding means that someone isn't going to get paid next week. They've started cracking eggs to see what kind of omelette we can make out of this mess.
And it should be no surprise that the conversation will include:
...whether military paychecks will be halted, veterans benefits stopped or civilian defense employees furloughed, because funds could not be borrowed to cover those obligations. Administration officials have said they expect a shortfall of about $134 billion for August alone, unless new borrowing authority is approved.
This has been brought to us by The Stars and Stripes (ht to Danang65 for pointing it out to me). More below the fold.
The article goes on to tell us that bills have been brought forward to protect military pay but they were never passed. That was just a few months ago when we had a threat of a government shutdown.
Stars and Stripes also tells us that the Obama Administration is doing all it can to protect active duty military pay and military family benefits. But they can't make promises. Well, I don't know about you, but it doesn't make me feel very safe at this moment in time.
Because of the prior threat of government shutdown, several organizations at least have plans of action. Banks and credit unions are promising to advance pay to their members in case of default by the USA.
In a statement, officials from Andrews Federal Credit Union said the money will help “pay mortgages and other important expenses, even when their government paycheck is unavailable.” USAA financial planners have also promised to offer some assistance to veterans and civilian defense workers, if their payouts are stopped.
Of course, those banks and credit unions are assuming that pay will be quickly restored and they will be out the funds for only a short amount of time. And not every military member has an account with a bank or credit union that will be so kind. I also don't believe that these companies can afford to help everyone who will need it.
Pentagon officials are working hard with the Administration as they understand that even a short stop in pay will severely impact the life on hundreds of thousands of military members and their families, especially during a time of war. The concern is palpable among military families. What happens to our troops in the war zone? And their families back on the homefront? What happens to those of us assigned overseas with foreign landlords that don't have the faintest idea on why Americans can't pay their debts? Summer is the time of moving - What happens to those in transit? Will their belongings ever show up? Who will pay for the temporary lodging? The questions are never ending.
And that is only from the active duty side of the house. Start adding questions from retirees waiting on paychecks, waiting for medical care. Add in the veterans on disability pay. Throw in Reservists and the Guard. More questions that we can possibly ask.
People from other countries are looking at us like we are insane. I mean, aren't we the richest and most powerful nation in the world?
Comments at Stars and Stripes reflect the diversity of the troops reading the news. There are folks angry with Republicans for not doing more. There is even a guy that wants us to default. There is one who is so sure that every military family makes enough money that we should all have a savings account to protect us when our government can't come up with our salary.
But one thing is sure. The concern by the majority is that we will actually default:
How will the FEDs correct the potential negative impact to our credit ratings if we cannot pay our bills or if our auto-pays draw on insufficient funds?
I worked hard to protect my credit rating and now through no fault of my own. Now I have no control over something that is very precious to my future.
I don't believe the consumer credit organizations will be caring enough to reflect on how this happened; just that it happened and I wrote hot drafts.
This whole situation just irritates the crap out of me. Even if they do "pay back" the troops, how the heck are they supposed to pay their rent/mortgages and other essential things in the mean time? My husband and I are dual military, so it's not like one of us could go out and get a job somewhere else. We would both still be required to come into work and just hope we get paid soon. It's crap!
Agreed. This kind of talk about not raising the debt limit is completely irresponsible.
I totally agree I wish they would get off their butts and quit [worrying] about who is a republican and [who] is a democrat and remember that they are Americans first and formost. without those service members they would not have the right to be on capitol hill to act like idiots.
How about you? Are you worried? What in the hell are we going to do?