Pentagon sounds alarm about possible US government shutdown
(Baonghean.vn) - In the event of a government shutdown, the US military will continue to serve without pay, while most civilian employees will take unpaid leave, Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said.
“If the shutdown continues for more than a few days, our military personnel will continue to work without pay and hundreds of thousands of our civilian colleagues will be furloughed,” she said at a press conference. Ms. Singh explained that the vast majority of the Pentagon’s civilian employees would be furloughed. “A government shutdown is the worst-case scenario for our department,” she said.
The Pentagon also warned that the impending US government shutdown risks slowing the training of Ukrainian pilots as they prepare to fly US-made F-16 fighter jets, as the training process involves civilian experts.
With the U.S. government’s funding set to run out at 12:01 a.m. Sunday, lawmakers have less than three days to reach a compromise to avert a shutdown of nonessential services. Several House Republicans have said they will refuse to support a short-term solution that would temporarily keep the government on payroll and give Congress more time to negotiate a budget deal without deep spending cuts.
“A shutdown is literally the worst-case scenario for the Pentagon,” Ms Singh stressed. “We really don’t want to have to make these painful decisions.” She had previously warned that more than 1 million military personnel, as well as furloughed civilians, would not be paid during the shutdown.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has hailed the F-16 deal as a “breakthrough deal” in Kiev’s efforts to defeat Russian forces, but US officials have downplayed the fighter’s potential impact on the conflict. US Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall warned earlier this year that the F-16 would not be a “game changer” in Ukraine. The Pentagon has said the time it takes to train Ukrainian pilots will depend on their level of proficiency. It typically takes about eight months to train a relatively inexperienced US pilot to fly the F-16, while more experienced pilots can be up to speed in about five months.