Palguta: Morale a hidden cost in CRs

While money is still flowing into agencies, the Partnership for Public Service says continuing resolutions hurt agencies\' financial planning and ability to hir...

By John Buckner
Federal News Radio

The hidden costs of a third continuing resolution could be found most in employees’ morale.

John Palguta, vice president for policy at the Partnership for Public Service, told the Federal Drive that five months into the current fiscal year, agencies still do not know what their budget is going to be.

“Being in limbo hurts from a planning perspective and it hurts from an operational perspective,” Palguta said.

Palguta said agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Defense and the Internal Revenue Service all report that with each continuing resolution, the ability to do their jobs becomes more difficult.

Federal managers now seem to be charged with double the work. Palguta said federal managers need to balance the demands of their employees, keep morale up and maintain the continuity of operations until a sold budget is in place.

“It’s very tough. I think some managers at some point just throw up their hands and you hope they don’t give up,” Palguta said.

With ideologies having an impact on budget decisions in Congress, Palguta has only one recourse: “Congress needs to get its act together.”

John Buckner is an intern with Federal News Radio.

(Copyright 2011 by FederalNewsRadio.com. All Rights Reserved.)

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