At the beginning of 2003 the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission---the federal agency charged with combating discrimination and harassment in employment and hiring---faced a budget already strained by an $11.6 million rise in costs. Due in part to lease prices in major cities in the wake of 9/11, this shortfall was compounded by $9 million in cuts and un-funded operating costs imposed in Congress's 2003 budget, and has become a $18.3 million budget deficit. EEOC Chairman Cari M. Dominguez has now informed Congress that unless sufficient funds are made available, the agency will have to temporarily furlough all of its 2,783 nationwide for as much a business-month---a move Ms Dominguez has said will "significantly impair our ability to effectively enforce the nation's civil rights laws."
See "Budget Shortfall Could Cause Furloughs for EEOC Employees", STEPHEN BARR, The Washington Post, March 5, 2003