[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 75 (Wednesday, June 2, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6306-S6307]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NATIONAL GUARD
Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, as we are waiting for some of
the deliberations on the Department of Defense authorization bill, I
thought it might be worthwhile to call to the attention of the Senate
an amendment I will be offering at a later time having to do with our
National Guard.
The National Guard has performed magnificently, heroically, and with
great professional skill, as well as patriotism. When I wore the
uniform of this country as a member of the U.S. Army Active-Duty back
in the late 1960s, the National Guard was a much different creature.
Today, as the Presiding Officer so well knows, the National Guard is,
in many cases, as skilled as, if not even more skilled in particular
skills, the regular Army. Thus, when we encounter a threat to the
interests of the United States and have to respond abroad, as we have
both in Afghanistan and Iraq--especially in Iraq but before that in the
Balkans--the National Guard is called on to supply so many of those
troops.
My wife and I make it a point on holidays such as Thanksgiving to
have Thanksgiving dinner with troops in different parts of the world.
One time we found ourselves with our troops in Bosnia. At that
particular point in one of those camps out in the fields where we had
that Thanksgiving dinner, of that entire U.S. military force, which was
our ninth year in Bosnia helping stabilize that place from the
fratricide and killing that occurred there before, lo and behold, who
were those troops? Those troops were the National Guard. In that
particular case, it was the National Guard unit from Pennsylvania. They
knew they had a 6-month tour of duty and then they would go home--
remember, the National Guard members have their civilian jobs, and what
they signed up for also encompasses if there is an emergency in their
State, they are under the control of their Governor.
Now we find that we have entered a new era in which we are stretched
to the limit on our regular Army troops and almost as if it is an
expected thing of replacing regular Army with National Guard. Of
course, something is going to have to change, and I think the head of
the National Guard and the head of the Reserves are addressing this
because they are quite concerned that over time, they are going to see
people not reenlisting in the Reserves and the Guard, and in order to
compensate for that and encourage that, I think we are going to see our
military leadership is going to be setting forth an agenda where Guard
and Reserves would have a more certain anticipation that within a
period of years, say, 4 years, they would serve a number of months of
active duty. I hope that is going to solve some of the problems;
otherwise, people might be voting with their feet as they leave the
National Guard.
The thrust of my remarks is to tell about when the National Guard is
activated, as it has been very heroically from my State--the Florida
National Guard was, in fact, in Iraq before the war started. We went in
there with special operations troops, and they have performed
magnificently. Initially, they thought they were going for 6 months.
Then they understood 12 months. But in some cases, they were extended
to 14 and 15 months.
So in those long deployments, what happens back home? The families
are anxious naturally. The families are usually without the primary
breadwinner in the family. The families--the remaining spouses and the
children--are often facing a new kind of not only emotional problems
but financial problems, not even to speak of the question of the
financial situation facing the employer back home.
What should we do? Talk to any National Guard commander and he will
tell you that a most important support for those families is the Family
Assistance Centers. We have them all over the country. They did not
used to get nearly the attention they do today because when fully
implemented, when fully funded, when giving the attention to the
families back home while their loved ones are abroad, they are giving
them counseling, they are helping them get proper counseling on
financial management, and they are serving as a center point for
networking among the other National Guard families while their loved
ones are deployed overseas.
Thus, last year, when we had this very same bill on the Senate floor,
the Department of Defense authorization, I offered an amendment, and it
was accepted, providing $10 million for these Family Assistance
Centers. This is $10 million out of a $400 billion-plus DOD
authorization bill. It was accepted. A lot of that $10 million has not
been allocated in the last year. Lo and behold, we are seeing some
resistance to doing the same thing.
I wanted to give notice to the Senate that coming up will be my
amendment authorizing $10 million for Family Assistance Centers for our
National Guard families at home. It is one of the least things we can
do because it has been so effective. It has been so effective over the
course of the past year. But right now, they are anticipating that they
are not going to have those resources because they are not in the
National Guard budget. I want to make sure it is going to be in the
National Guard budget.
I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
[[Page S6307]]
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, the distinguished majority leader, the
distinguished Democratic leader, the Democratic whip, myself, and other
Senators have worked out this agreement that I now ask unanimous
consent to be considered by the Senate.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Will the Senator suspend for a moment, please.
The Chair has some business to conduct. I apologize.
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