Federal employees at Fort Hood plan rally to protest sequestration

FORT HOOD, Texas, March 18, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On March 20^th, federal employees, led by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), will be holding informational rallies across the country to protest sequestration.

Locally, a rally at Fort Hood will be held at the Civilian Center at the Front Gate from noon to 1:30 p.m.  Other rallies in AFGE District 10, headed by National Vice President Roy Flores, will take place in San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Houston, Dallas, Albuquerque, and New Orleans. 

These rallies will take place outside various federal agencies and lawmakers' offices to highlight the valuable work performed by our federal employees at military bases, federal prisons, airports, national parks, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and Social Security offices, as well as thousands of other locations.

Sequestration could force more than a million federal workers to take pay cuts of between 20 and 40 percent between now and the end of September. Less money in their pockets means less money to spend locally on food, clothing and other goods and services.

Further, sequestration is just bad economic policy as it saves little money and actually will cost the government money in lost revenue. Budget cuts would mean reduced services, longer processing times, and lost revenue from visitors to national parks, among other things. 

The goal of these rallies is to demonstrate to area lawmakers and citizens that there are real consequences to the massive budget cuts called for under sequestration. In many cities--like San Antonio-- the federal government is actually one of the largest employers and is a major economic driver for the metropolitan area. 

"Our message is very clear: sequestration has got to go," AFGE National President J. David Cox Sr. said. "If federal employees are furloughed without pay, if offices and plants are shut down, if vacancies aren't filled because of these across-the-board budget cuts, then federal employees won't be able to do the work that the American public expects them to do."

Instead of slashing spending on federal services and programs that benefit every American, AFGE is urging Congress to close tax loopholes that only benefit Wall Street and the richest 2% of Americans. 

For more information on the rally at Fort Hood or other District 10 locations, contact Cheryl Eliano or Samuel T. Boles at 254-287-8821 or Walter Greeley at 202-285-9870. For a list of other cities holding rallies, visit http://local.americawantstowork.org/all.

SOURCE American Federation of Government Employees