Republicans on Tuesday accused the White House of trying to “intimidate” defense companies into keeping silent about major job losses if automatic military spending cuts take effect early next year, after the administration said Monday that it would be “inappropriate” for employers to warn workers of layoffs.

Defense industry officials were caught in the middle, trying to weigh the requirements of a federal law that says they must give employees 60 days’ notice before major layoffs versus the Labor Department, which said Monday that it doesn’t believe the law applies in this case.

“The stakes are very high and there are still questions on everyone’s minds. Is this [Labor Department guidance] definitive? Is this something we can now take without fear of judicial contradiction? I don’t think the answer to that is yes. There are still too many questions,” one industry official said on the condition of anonymity.

The automatic defense cuts, which are looming because a deficit supercommittee failed last year to strike a deal, have become a major political headache for President Obama and Congress.

In an effort to head off at least some of the pain, the White House said Tuesday that military personnel will be spared from the cuts -- but that means trims will have to be deeper for military weapons systems and infrastructure.

Those cuts could jeopardize tens of thousands of private-sector jobs, and the 60 days’ notice requirement means companies would be alerting their employees of potential layoffs just days before voters go to the polls in November.

Republicans are eager for the warnings, saying it will put pressure on Democrats to cancel the cuts. They urged businesses to stay the course.

“I think they should follow the law and do their duty and not yield to the intimidation,” Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Republican and a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told reporters.

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Editor's Note: So, once again, Progressives would rather put people out of work to attain a tax hike on "the rich" which would only fund the federal government for 8 days) than cease with their ideological agenda...Nice bunch of people, huh?


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