Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Obamaquester GROUNDS Kevin Washburn. Indian Affairs Secretary Absent from NIGA's Tradeshow
The Obama administrations failure to work within a budget has forced Kevin Washburn to miss his chance to attend a meeting of rich casino tribes.
Kevin Washburn, the Interior Department’s Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, could not attend the National Indian Gaming Association’s 28th Annual Tradeshow and Convention in Phoenix, Arizona this year because of sequestration cuts to the department’s budget.
A reduction of more than $800 million for the remainder of the current fiscal year has grounded Washburn. “I am sorry that I am not able to be with you at the National Indian Gaming Association [NIGA] conference in Phoenix this year,” Washburn said, according to a document titled “Message from DOI Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn” that was distributed at the convention taking place March 24-28 at the Phoenix Convention Center. “I regret that it is the sequestration that prevents me from attending the conference this year. Although Indian Affairs recognizes the crucial importance of Indian gaming and the programs run by NIGA and its member tribes, every trip that I take costs the Department a lot of money. As a cost saving measure, the Department has eliminated all travel that is not deemed ‘mission crucial,’” Washburn said.
The $800 million reduction will affect funding and programs the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) provides to tribes. It will also reduce the BIA and Bureau of Indian Education workforce through employee furloughs in the central, regional and field offices, Washburn said. Tribal employees on many reservations will also be “severely impacted as a result of the federal reductions,” Washburn said.
The money saved by reduced or cut travel costs will be used to fund tribal programs and services or cut the number of days an employee is placed on furlough, Washburn said.
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4 comments:
You know I see a lot of blaming about the sequester, yet it took both republicans and democrats to write the bill, so it is unfair to blame just the democrats. I do not see you calling out the republicans who voted yes on the thing. You show a real one sidedness and unwillingness to work on real solutions. Yea it is your site but it is hard to visit when I know you are going to bash me for my opinion. I know you hate Obama for whatever reason, yet he is the president.
The sequester was President Obama's idea and he signed the bill. He told us the sequester wouldn't happen, then failed to cut spending so this law kicked in.
Now, we see the results. I personally don't think this is bad. All unnecessary travel should be cut.
The solutions are easy, quit spending on stupid stuff.
I agree, quit spending on stupid stuff. Obama's trip to play Golf with Tiger Woods cost as much as a years worth of tours at the White House. It is all about priorities. Every congressman and senator and President gets their same amount of money for life once they were in office. So a senator that is only a senator for one term, is set for life. Maybe we should all just run for government positions.
maybe they should take a cut in pay and let go of all the a## kissers and then maybe there would be enough money.
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