A federal judge says it's time to tell Congress to “go to hell” for allowing the partial government shutdown and other recent actions that have significantly cut court funding.
“It’s the right thing to do,” said senior U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf in a recent blog posting. The blog exposed some long-simmering tensions between the two branches of government over recent budget decisions.
Kopf, a Bush administration appointee in Lincoln, Neb., says Congress has hit federal courts with a one-two punch -- allowing the deep, inflexible cuts known as sequester to kick in this spring, then failing to agree on a spending bill to stop the government from partially shutting down some government services.
The partial shutdown has forced the courts to furlough non-essential employees and use court fees and other sources of income to help keep things running.
A non-partisan congressional report published prior to the Oct. 1 partial shutdown projected those accounts would be exhausted in about 10 days, at which time only “essential work” by furlough-exempt judges, core staff and probation and parole officers could continue under federal law.
Kopf is now urging a confrontation with the Legislative Branch, calling on his fellow members of the bench to declare all employees exempt from furlough.
