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Legislative Alert #08-08
May 22, 2008
The Issue: Senate Co-Sponsors Needed
for National Guard Empowerment and State-National Defense
Integration Act of 2008
Immediate Action Required:
Contact your Senators and urge them to support and co-sponsor S.
2760 - National Guard Empowerment and State-National Defense
Integration Act of 2008
On March 14, a bipartisan team of National Guard supporters in
Congress - Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Kit Bond (R-MO),
co-chairs of the Senate National Guard Caucus, and Reps. Gene
Taylor (D-MS) and Tom Davis (R-VA) introduced the National Guard
Empowerment and State-National Defense Integration Act of 2008.
Some key provisions of the 2008 legislation were included in the
HASC markup of the FY 2009 NDAA.
Empowerment legislation enacted in the FY 2008 National Defense
Authorization Act (NDAA); elevated the Chief of the National
Guard Bureau (CNGB) to 4-stars; designated the National Guard
Bureau as a joint activity; required the Defense Secretary to
develop a Charter for the National Guard Bureau; identified the
CNGB as a principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense through
the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs for matters pertaining to
non-federalized Guard forces, and more.
Empowerment II, as some are calling it, will build on those
historic improvements by; providing adjutants general with joint
duty credit for their current duties, assuring our nation’s
governors maintain “tactical control” over federal forces during
emergencies; improving the Department of Defense’s domestic
capabilities by providing the National Guard budgetary authority
to research, validate, and procure essential equipment for
homeland defense; ensuring that United States Northern Command
and United States Pacific Command remain in support of a
state/National Guard—led response, and more.
The Senate version of the FY 2009 NDAA did not include
Empowerment. It is extremely important that we secure additional
Senate co-sponsors as the bill will now be offered as a
stand-alone amendment.
The National Guard Empowerment and State-National Defense
Integration Act of 2008 is the next logical step to ensure the
National Guard fully develops its capabilities as an operational
force. More information concerning Empowerment legislation can
be found on our web site at:
http://www.ngaus.org/empowerment.
Contact your Senators and urge them to support and co-sponsor S.
2760 to ensure the National Guard is at the table, empowered,
and better prepared for homeland defense response.
TAKE THE FOLLOWING ACTION:
By using the “Write to Congress” feature on the NGAUS Web site
at
www.ngaus.org, you can IMMEDIATELY e-mail your Senator.
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:
http://www.ngaus.org/empowerment. Please direct any
questions concerning this issue to Pete Duffy, NGAUS Deputy
Legislative Director at 202-454-5307 or via email:
pete.duffy@ngaus.org.
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