BILL ANALYSIS
AJR 36
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Date of Hearing: August 16, 2006
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS
Joe Nation, Chair
AJR 36 (Hancock) - As Amended: August 10, 2006
SUBJECT : California National Guard and the War in Iraq
SUMMARY : Calls upon the Governor to ensure the President and
Congress take immediate steps to initiate the return of
California National Guard (CNG) troops to the state.
Specifically, this resolution makes the following declarations
and findings:
1)In recent years California has endured its share of terrorist
threats and disasters, including earthquakes, floods, fires,
storms, mudslides, and tsunami warnings.
2)Thousands of CNG soldiers and much of their equipment have
been deployed overseas.
3)Costs of deployment to our state have been high as
firefighters, police officers, nurses, mechanics, teachers,
doctors, dentist, pilots, and working people from all segments
of our society have had to leave their jobs and lives behind.
4)In the case of Hurricane Katrina, National Guard Bureau Chief
Lt. General Steven Blum said that the assignment of thousands
of Guard troops from Mississippi and Louisiana to Iraq delayed
those states' initial hurricane response.
5)There is reason to believe that the deployment of National
Guard soldiers overseas may render the remaining National
Guard force ill-equipped to carry out its primary state
missions in the event of a catastrophic national or manmade
disaster.
EXISTING LAW
1)Establishes the Military Department and declares that the
Governor of the State, by virtue of his office, is the
Commander in Chief of the Militia of the State.
2)States that all acts of the Congress of the United States
relating to the control, administration, and government of the
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Army of the United States and the United States Air Force and
relating to the control, administration, and government of the
United States Navy, and all rules and regulations adopted by
the United States for the government of the National Guard and
Naval Reserve or Naval Militia, so far as the same are not
inconsistent with the rights reserved to this State and
guaranteed under the Constitution of this State, constitute
the rules and regulations for the government of the militia.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : The CNG has a unique dual mission, providing the
states with units trained and equipped to protect life and
property, while providing the nation with units ready to defend
the United States and its interests around the world.
The United States Constitution provides that Congress shall have
the power to "provide for calling forth the Militia to execute
the laws of the Union, to suppress insurrections and repel
invasions," reserving to the California State Assembly, the
California State Senate, and the Governor of California the
authority to direct the training and arming of members of the
CNG for defense of the state.
During peacetime, the Governor through the State Adjutant
General commands CNG forces. The Governor can call the Guard
into action during local or statewide emergencies, such as
storms, earthquakes, and civil disturbances. Moreover, the
President of the United States can activate the National Guard
to participate in Federal missions and California's soldiers and
airmen have performed their Federal mission in service to the
nation during all major U.S. conflicts since the California
Guard's founding in 1849.
It is the Guard's Federal mission that determines what types of
units are needed in a given state and how those units are
equipped and trained. Additionally, over 95% of the funding for
the training, equipment and capability for the Guard come from
federal funding received to perform their federal mission. As a
result, the National Guard Association of California argues that
"the federal government should not have limits placed on its
ability to respond to the War on Terror or other missions that
require the assistance of the National Guard."
In 1990, the Supreme Court ruled in the Perpich V. The United
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States Department of Defense case that the federal government
has the right to call up National Guard troops despite any
objection to the location, purpose, type, or schedule of such
active duty but it also stated that governors could refuse a
federal request if a deployment would impair its ability to
serve or train for emergencies at home.
According to a report issued in October of last year by the
Government Accountability Office (GAO), the heavy demands on the
Guard since September 11, 2001 have caused "declining readiness,
weakening the Army National Guard's preparedness for future
missions." The report also went on to state that the Pentagon's
strategy for the Guard was "unsustainable" and that the response
by National Guard units to Hurricane Katrina "was more
complicated because significant quantities of critical
equipment, such as satellite communications equipment, radios,
trucks, helicopters and night vision goggles were deployed to
Iraq."
The author's office argues that the overseas deployment of our
National Guard has negatively impacted the Guard's ability to
protect our residents. Last year, when AJR 36 was introduced,
Hurricane Katrina had just devastated the Gulf Coast region and
exposed the nation's inability to respond to a natural
catastrophe. The author goes on to state that the continued
deployment of the Guard overseas severely compromises our
nation's ability to adequately respond to Homeland Security
needs and has negatively impacted the Guard's ability to recruit
and retain members.
California would not be alone in asking that its' National Guard
troops be returned home. Last year, Montana Governor Brian
Schweitzer was concerned enough about a wildfire disaster in his
state that he asked the Pentagon to return his state's troops
and Hawaii passed a resolution earlier this year requesting that
its' troops remain in the state in case of a catastrophic event.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Code Pink (Sponsor)
American Friends Service Committee, Pacific Mountain Region
City of West Hollywood
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Grandmothers for Peace International
Marin County Board of Supervisors
Out Against War: LGBT & Friends Coalition for Peace & Justice
Veterans for Peace Gold Country Chapter #122
Several letters from individuals
Opposition
National Guard Association of California
Analysis Prepared by : Tim Valderrama / V. A. / (916) 319-3550