[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 242 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 242

    To amend title 10, United States Code, to enhance the roles and 
      responsibilities of the Chief of the National Guard Bureau.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 31, 2011

 Mr. Rockefeller (for himself, Mr. Johnson of South Dakota, Mr. Leahy, 
  Ms. Snowe, Mr. Kerry, and Mr. Wyden) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend title 10, United States Code, to enhance the roles and 
      responsibilities of the Chief of the National Guard Bureau.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Guardians of Freedom Act of 2011''.

SEC. 2. CHIEF OF NATIONAL GUARD BUREAU.

    (a) Role as Advocate and Liaison.--Section 10502 of title 10, 
United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as subsections 
        (f) and (g), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following new 
        subsection (d):
    ``(d) Advocate and Liaison for State National Guards.--The Chief of 
the National Guard Bureau shall serve as an advocate and liaison for 
the National Guard of each State, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 
District of Columbia, Guam, and the Virgin Islands and inform such 
National Guards of all actions that could affect their Federal or State 
missions, including any equipment level or force structure changes.''.
    (b) Inclusion as Member of Joint Chiefs of Staff.--
            (1) In general.--Such section is further amended by 
        inserting after subsection (d), as added by subsection (a) of 
        this section, the following new subsection:
    ``(e) Member of Joint Chiefs of Staff.--(1) The Chief of the 
National Guard Bureau shall be a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff 
under section 151 of this title.
    ``(2) As a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Chief of the 
National Guard Bureau has the specific responsibility of advocating for 
the National Guards of the States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 
District of Columbia, Guam, and the Virgin Islands and coordinate the 
efforts of the National Guard warfighting support and force provider 
mission with the homeland defense, defense support to civil 
authorities, and State emergency response missions of the National 
Guard to ensure the National Guard has the resources to perform its 
multiple missions.
    ``(3) The Chief of the National Guard Bureau shall consult with the 
Governors and their Adjutants General before any changes are made in 
National Guard force structure or equipment levels (or both) to 
determine the impact those changes may have on the homeland defense, 
defense support to civil authorities, and State emergency response 
missions of the National Guard.''.
            (2) Conforming amendment.--Section 151(a) of such title is 
        amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(7) The Chief of the National Guard Bureau.''.
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