Coffman Introduces Federal Furlough Bill to Save Taxpayers $5.5 Billion

http://coffman.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=355:september-16-2010-coffman-introduces-federal-furlough-bill-to-save-taxpayers-55-billion&catid=36:latest-news&Itemid=10

Oh welcome to the real world!
It would seem Coffman actually understands that we have a situation getting ready to blowup in our faces from excessive spending that we don't have.
I would think they would also start cutting out all of that fat that Congress has been use to sucking up to, such as excessive travel to, the booze bills, Nancy's private plane, and just off the top of my head.

Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO) this week introduced a bill that would subject federal civilian employees to a two week furlough in 2011 and reduce salaries of members of Congress by 10 percent saving taxpayers more than $5.5 billion. The bill, H.R. 6134, is a one year measure to reduce federal spending and combat the unsustainable deficit spending in Washington.

Introducing his bill, Coffman remarked, “Currently, at least 24 states, and nearly three quarters of a million workers, are undertaking a budget-cutting maneuver that I believe we should institute at the federal level: short term employee furloughs. These states, across the nation, along with city and county government counterparts, recognize that occasional worker furloughs are necessary to cut budgets and hold down spending. It also has the benefit of ensuring that federal workers are not sheltered from the realities of life in today’s economy.”

States Shut Down to Save Cash

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125202235182685075.html

California drivers can't line up to renew their licenses Friday. Wisconsin natives can't order copies of their birth certificates. Georgia consumers will have to postpone registering complaints with state watchdogs. And stranded motorists in Maryland may have to wait a little longer for highway-department help.

Across the country, cash-strapped state governments are shutting down business for a day at a time to save money. State offices are shuttered Friday in California, Maine, Maryland and Michigan. Rhode Island had planned to join them until a judge on Thursday blocked its closure plan.

Some state agencies are closed in Georgia and Wisconsin, and most Colorado state offices will be shuttered