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NSA Hit With Furloughs Starting Next Week

NSA Hit With Furloughs Starting Next Week
Reuters
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WASHINGTON, July 3 (Reuters) - The National Security Agency, the spy agency thrown into the public eye following former contractor Edward Snowden's disclosures, is getting hit with furloughs starting next week.

The NSA, which has more than 35,000 civilian and military employees, will begin 11-day furloughs starting on Sunday and ending Sept. 21, an NSA spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

Furloughs are unpaid leave required by some government agencies in response to mandatory federal spending cuts.

The NSA has been top news since Snowden's leaks to media organizations about secret surveillance programs conducted by the agency.

The NSA did not provide the number of employees who would be affected by the furloughs.

A source familiar with the NSA said its Threat Operations Center, a round-the-clock watch center that seeks to detect threats, is not exempt from the furloughs.

The agency is taking steps to try to minimize the disruption, but "it's demoralizing to say the least," the source said on condition of anonymity. "Critical missions are getting affected." (Reporting by Warren Strobel and Tabassum Zakaria; Editing by Xavier Briand)

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Before You Go

What Sequestration Would Cut
Defense(01 of11)
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About half of the sequestration consists of defense spending cuts, which would "drastically" shrink the military and cancel defense contracts, according to the House Armed Services Committee.(John Cantlie/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Emergency Response(02 of11)
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The sequestration would slash funding for the government's emergency response system for disasters such as hurricanes, according to the White House.(Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Unemployment Benefits(03 of11)
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Checks for unemployed people looking for work would shrink by up to 9 percent, according to the White House.(J Pat Carter/AP Photo) (credit:AP)
Homelessness Programs(04 of11)
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More than 100,000 formerly homeless people would lose their current housing as a result of sequestration, according to the White House.(Mark Lennihan/AP Photo) (credit:AP)
Rental Assistance(05 of11)
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About 125,000 low-income families would be at risk of losing their housing because of rental assistance cuts, according to the White House.(Barry Gutierrez/AP Photo) (credit:AP)
Mental Health Programs(06 of11)
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The sequestration would eliminate care for up to 373,000 "seriously mentally ill" people, according to the White House.(Eric Gay/AP Photo) (credit:AP)
Food Safety(07 of11)
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The FDA would conduct fewer food inspections as a result of sequestration, according to the White House.(Mike Hentz/AP Photo) (credit:AP)
Head Start(08 of11)
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About 70,000 children would lose access to the early education program Head Start as a result of the sequestration, according to the White House.(Elaine Thompson/AP Photo) (credit:AP)
Small Business Assistance(09 of11)
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The government's small business loan guarantees would get slashed by nearly $1 billion as a result of the sequestration, according to the White House.(Steven Senne/AP Photo) (credit:AP)
Scientific Research(10 of11)
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The sequestration would slash scientific research funding at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Science Foundation (NSF), according to the White House.(Spencer Platt/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
HIV Prevention(11 of11)
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Up to 424,000 HIV tests would be on the chopping block as a result of sequestration, according to the White House. Thousands of people with HIV also would lose access to "life-saving" HIV medications.(Darren Abate/AP Images for AIDS Healthcare Foundation) (credit:AP)
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