Should Sequester Happen, Furloughs Imminent For Fort McCoy

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Federal employees at a western Wisconsin military training base are bracing for the impact of the across-the-board federal spending cuts that could go into effect at the end of the week.

Congress and the Obama administration are trying to reach a compromise by week’s end to avert the sequestration.

Fort McCoy in Monroe County employs 1,500 federal civilian government employees who stand to lose 20 percent of their salary, or one day off per week. Active military personnel would not be affected by the budget cuts.

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It is not a busy time of the year for training, but Fort McCoy spokesperson Linda Fournier says the civilian staff is busy making preparations for the busier time for training in the summer: “You know, getting the buildings fixed up, cleaned up, ready to go for when the troops come here; doing any necessary repairs for those buildings; working on our ranges and our training areas, making sure if there are any improvements for them, or any new changes that need to be made.”

If a deal can’t be reached in Washington, D.C., the furloughs would start in late April and could last through the end of September. Fort McCoy trained 122,000 Army Reservists and National Guard members in 2012.