Federal Courts Bracing for 'Worst Case Scenario'
From the National Law Journal
With the end of the fiscal year less than two weeks away, and absent any clarity from Congress regarding next year's budget, the federal judiciary is preparing for what court officials describe as "the worst-case scenario."
From courthouse closures to cuts in security, employee training and information technology, "you look at everything," Chief Judge William Traxler Jr., chairman of the Judicial Conference of the United States' executive committee, said last week after announcing a series of fresh cost-cutting measures.
The fiscal year ends on September 30. Congress has yet to pass a budget for fiscal year 2014. It's unclear whether mandatory budget cuts known as sequestration, which eliminated $350 million from the judiciary's budget last year, would continue.
Appropriations committees in both houses of Congress approved budgets that would, at a minimum, roughly restore money to the judiciary at pre-sequestration levels. Still, court officials fear a fight among the House, Senate and White House over other budget priorities could lead to a continuing resolution that maintains sequestration cuts or otherwise keeps the judiciary's budget flat.
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the National Law Journal
With the end of the fiscal year less than two weeks away, and absent any clarity from Congress regarding next year's budget, the federal judiciary is preparing for what court officials describe as "the worst-case scenario."
From courthouse closures to cuts in security, employee training and information technology, "you look at everything," Chief Judge William Traxler Jr., chairman of the Judicial Conference of the United States' executive committee, said last week after announcing a series of fresh cost-cutting measures.
The fiscal year ends on September 30. Congress has yet to pass a budget for fiscal year 2014. It's unclear whether mandatory budget cuts known as sequestration, which eliminated $350 million from the judiciary's budget last year, would continue.
Appropriations committees in both houses of Congress approved budgets that would, at a minimum, roughly restore money to the judiciary at pre-sequestration levels. Still, court officials fear a fight among the House, Senate and White House over other budget priorities could lead to a continuing resolution that maintains sequestration cuts or otherwise keeps the judiciary's budget flat.
Read more in our daily News Update...