The FBI will enact 10 furlough days under the sequester next fiscal year and operate with only a skeleton crew on those days, The New York Times reported Thursday.
Michael Schmidt writes officials told the newspaper that the bureau may recall furloughed agents in circumstances such as a kidnapping or a terrorist attack.
According to the article, the FBI spends $16 million each day or nearly 60 percent of its entire budget on salaries.
The bureau will schedule furloughs around weekends to limit the costs of powering up offices, a senior official told The Times.
FBI Director James Comey said at a news conference in Richmond, Va. last week that he intends to publicly speak about sequestration’s impact on agency operations.
“I can’t imagine that if we have charged people with protecting their fellow citizens that it makes sense to send them home and tell them you can’t work for two weeks without pay,” Comey said, according to the report.
Schmidt reports the FBI has also imposed a hiring freeze and cut down on training programs and vehicle procurement.
