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The
service of our men and women of the National Guard
ordered to full-time National Guard duty under Title 32
must be protected by the same reemployment rights under
the Uniform Services Re-employment Rights Act (USERRA)
as are afforded our members ordered to active duty under
Title 10.
Although not readily visible to the American public and
media, the men and women of the National Guard ordered
to serve on full-time National Guard duty under Title 32
after September 11, 2001 are playing an indispensable
role in maintaining the National Guard as a ready
operational force in the Global War on Terror. As with
the active forces, the sacrifice of these men and women
involves spending extended periods away from civilian
occupations. They should have the same rights
under USERRA upon completion of their duty to return
with certainty to their civilian jobs as those Reserve
Component members serving on active duty under Title 10.
On
April 16, 2008 Congressman Robin Hayes (R-N.C.)
testified in front of the Veteran’s Affairs Subcommittee
on Economic Opportunity on H.R. 3798 now before the
110th Congress which would establish a National Guard
Employment Protection Act that would apply the benefits
of USERRA to include full time National Guard duty under
section 502(f) of Title 32 on or after September 11,
2001 for exemption from the USERRA 5-year limit on
service. This bill was introduced in October of
last year by Congressman Hayes with support from
Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam) as the
original co-sponsor.
Your help is instrumental in this legislative decision.
Contact your members of Congress and urge them to
support and co-sponsor H.R. 3798 to ensure our Guardsmen
are afforded the same reemployment rights when called up
under Title 32 orders as when called up under Title 10
orders.
TAKE THE FOLLOWING ACTION:
By using the “Write to Congress” feature provided below,
you can IMMEDIATELY e-mail your elected representatives.
A sample letter is included in our “Write to Congress”
feature. You can e-mail the pre-written message or edit
the sample letter as you desire. This is the
quickest and most effective method of expressing your
views to Congress. Also, contact your friends and family
and urge them to “Write to Congress” as well. For more
in-depth information and background visit our web site
at www.ngaus.org/.
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