[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 18 (Tuesday, January 30, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E214-E215]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    INTRODUCTION OF H.R. 718 NATIONAL GUARD EMPOWERMENT ACT OF 2007

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. TOM DAVIS

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 30, 2007

  Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce 
H.R. 718, the National Guard Empowerment Act of 2007.
  The National Guard needs a voice to ensure that its people get the 
same training, equipment and benefits as their active-duty 
counterparts. It needs a voice to speak for the needs of governors and 
the guardsmen who defend and protect us from natural disasters and acts 
of terror.
  Asking the Department of Defense to approve one four-star General for 
the National Guard and allow this Guard General a seat at the Joint 
Chiefs of Staff is not overly reaching or a threat to national 
security. It's simply a matter of providing a seat at the table to an 
organization that has earned it.
  When it comes to the Guard, Cold War thinking still prevails at the 
Pentagon. So a bipartisan and bicameral group of Members of Congress 
stand united behind this bill. This year, we have added three important 
provisions to: allow Guard officers to advance to the highest ranks of 
leadership; force better accountability in service procurement for the 
National Guard; and, define and improve the fractured planning and 
operational relationships between the Department of Defense, the 
National Guard Bureau, U.S. Northern Command and our Governors.
  After 9/11, the President issued an Executive Order making the 
security of the homeland the No.1 priority of the Department of 
Defense. But the Department's attempts to empower the Guard have so far 
been date have been hollow, with no clear standards, no firm 
requirements and only minimal funding.
  The Department of Defense seems to be in denial about the essential 
role the National Guard plays in times of need. The Pentagon needs to 
show more concern for the force that protects Americans first, arrives 
first, acts first and stays longest.
  Today, the Government Accountability Office released a study 
sponsored by the Oversight and Government Reform Committee entitled: 
``Actions Needed to Identify National Guard Domestic Equipment 
Requirements and Readiness.'' This study points out that the Department 
of Defense has yet to take decisive action to improve the National 
Guard's domestic capabilities and clearly points out why this basic 
Guard empowerment bill is absolutely necessary.

  If you want to know why the Guard deserves a seat at the table, take 
a look at what the Air Force has budgeted this year for First Air 
Force, which is made up of the nation's top Air National Guard wings. 
These are the fighters who protect the skies over America. Their 
command budget and manpower is being cut almost in half. And it should 
come as no surprise that these Air Guard wings are not on the Air Force 
list to get F-22s or F-35s.
  Last year's BRAC decimated Air National Guard units that provided 
critical airlift capability during Hurricane Katrina, moving people, 
water and supplies through catastrophic damage. Without that 
capability, we may be in a worse position today in terms of emergency 
supply movement than we were when the storm struck.
  Or consider the readiness of the Army's chemical and biological 
response units, most of which rest in the Reserve Component units. GAO 
soon will release a study sponsored by the Oversight and Government 
Reform Committee that will show the Army has not seen fit to enhance 
these units for homeland defense. As a result, Americans remain 
vulnerable to the chemical-biological attack many fear likely if not 
inevitable.
  A year and a half after Hurricane Katrina, the findings and basic 
recommendations in the Select Committee Report on Hurricane Katrina 
have not been adequately addressed.
  Moreover, the National Guard continues to perform valiantly in the 
Global War on Terrorism. The National Guard provides almost half the 
manpower, support and transportation

[[Page E215]]

our military uses overseas, yet it has just 35 percent of the equipment 
it needs. The time has come to fix this.
  Since 9/11, every single person in this country has benefited from 
the exemplary service provided by the men and women of the Guard. I 
urge the new leadership in this Congress, as they examine defense 
policies and budgets, to keep in mind the needs of the these brave men 
and women, who for too long have been treated as second-class citizens 
by our military. This country cannot afford a broken state/federal 
response to homeland emergencies.
  Madam Speaker, those National Guardsmen responsible for our homeland 
defense and military assistance to civilian authorities deserve the 
resources, planning and training they need. These reforms are long 
overdue, and the National Guard Empowerment Act of 2007 represents an 
essential step in the right direction.

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