Executive Committee Home

August 1, 2006

Dear Mr. Chairman and Representative Skelton:

We write in opposition to a provision in the House-passed version of the National Defense Authorization (DoD) Act (H.R. 5122), which is about to be conferenced with the Senate-passed version, S. 2766. A provision in section 511 of the House-passed DoD Act would allow the President to federalize the National Guard of the states without the consent of the governor. Specifically, this clause amends Title 10 of the United States Code to give the President the authority to take control of the Guard in case of "a serious natural or manmade disaster, accident, or catastrophe that occurs in the United States, its territories and possessions, or Puerto Rico."

This provision is very open-ended without a definition of what constitutes a "serious" natural or manmade disaster. We understand that in case of a National Security incident where the state may have been incapacitated by an event, the President may need this power. However, he is granted this authority under the "insurrection act."

The possibility of the federal government pre-empting the authority of the state or governor in natural and manmade disasters is opposed by the nation's governors. We are responsible for the safety and welfare of our citizens and are in the best position to coordinate all resources to prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters. When federal aid is needed it should be coordinated by the governors.

The nation's governors feel very strongly about protecting our constitutional responsibility to take care of our citizens, and do not want that responsibility shifted to federal officials, as defined by a "serious" emergency. The current process works quite well where we use our National Guard in emergencies and ask for federal assistance as the need arises.

We urge you to drop this provision that would usurp governor's authority over the National Guard during emergencies from the conference agreement on the National Defense Authorization.

Sincerely,