Railroads hire many veterans returning from war

[longknife]

Sandy Suver, manager of yard operations in Union Pacific's Council Bluffs yard and former military flight controller, right, talks to Phil Schafer, a remote control locomotive operator who is a 101st airborne veteran, March 4 in Council Bluffs, Iowa. As thousands of American soldiers return to the civilian workforce after service in Iraq or Afghanistan, many are finding jobs on the rail lines. More than 25 percent of all railroad workers nationwide have served in the military. (Nati Harnik / AP)

Great story from Military Times @ Railroads hire many veterans returning from war | Military Times | militarytimes.com

And the union boss, Trumka, is raising heck because of Walmart's efforts to hire more veterans.

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - what one hand giveth, the other taketh away...

House panel boosts veterans spending
May 15, 2013

WASHINGTON — A key House panel responsible for implementing sweeping cuts to agency budgets would exempt veterans and largely protect spending on border safety and other homeland security programs.

The House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees veterans and military construction projects approved a bill Wednesday to boost funding for veterans medical care and processing claims. Their action stuck close to President Barack Obama's requests.

Republican Rep. Harold Rogers of Kentucky is the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. His panel also approved increases to homeland security programs like the Border Patrol. The boosts come even as Republicans controlling the House are demanding large spending cuts to a broad array of domestic programs.

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Report: Pentagon could save billions by making military retirees pay more
May 14, 2013 - The Pentagon could slash the defense budget by more than $900 billion over a decade without sacrificing significant combat capabilities, according to a Washington think tank.

The Stimson Center, which labels itself as a nonpartisan nonprofit, assembled recommendations to slash spending on personnel compensation, the use of manpower and procurement practices. The center, however, did not endorse any of the recommendations in its report, which was released Monday. “Essentially, we’re hoping by drawing attention to these things to make it easier for (the Department of Defense) to avoid debilitating cuts in forces and weapons programs,” said Barry Blechman, a Stimson Center distinguished fellow and one of the authors of the report.

The Pentagon finds itself in the midst of sequestration, or forced cuts of about $500 billion over the next decade, because the White House and Congressional leaders could not reach a deficit-reduction pact to avoid the automatic cuts. That’s in addition to $487 billion the Pentagon agreed to absorb over the same time period. Among Stimson’s cost-cutting recommendations: pegging pay to specialization in high-demand areas; requiring military retirees to pay more for health care; curtailing the number of health care beneficiaries; and reforming military retirement plans to more closely resemble civilian-style retirement options.

The report suggested, among other actions, trimming the number of civilian and contractor employees, using service members to perform “inherently military functions” and reducing redundant support services inside each military branch. The report also outlined better management acquisition practices. This year, the Air Force must cut $10.8 billion by the end of September. Among other actions to cut spending, the service has drastically slashed flying hours, grounded aircraft and deferred maintenance. It could furlough 13,000 civilian employees at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, among tens of thousands possible furloughs in the Defense Department.

High-ranking Pentagon leaders have said the combined reductions would “hollow out” the military. Even so, many of the report’s recommendations are unlikely to get political or bureaucratic backing, Blechman said. “It’s an uphill slog, but our hope is because of budgetary pressures and the need for new appropriations for the coming fiscal year that the department and the Congress will understand it’s better to take some of these efficiencies than, say, cut the number of Army brigades,” he said. A Pentagon spokeswoman declined comment on the report.

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