NGAUS Legislative Alert #12-11; 19 June 2012

The Issue: Co-sponsor Concurrent Resolution honoring the National Guard’s 375 years of service and affirming congressional support for a permanent operational reserve as a component of the Armed Forces

Immediate Action Required: Contact your representative and senators and ask them to co-sponsor House Concurrent Resolution 129 and Senate Concurrent Resolution 48 honoring the National Guard’s 375 years of service and affirming congressional support for a permanent operational reserve as a component of the Armed Forces.

NGAUS needs you to contact your senators and representative to urge them to co-sponsor House Concurrent Resolution 129 (H.Con.Res.129) and Senate Concurrent Resolution 48 (S.Con.Res.48), honoring the National Guard’s 375 years of service and affirming congressional support for a permanent operational reserve as a component of the Armed Forces.

Earlier this year, the United States Air Force presented Congress with a budget that reduces defense spending through disproportional cuts to the Air National Guard (ANG). Thus far, members of the House of Representatives and the Senate Armed Services Committee have put forward legislative proposals to halt these cuts, acknowledging that the ANG provides 35 percent of the capability for 6 percent of the budget. By supporting this resolution, members of Congress will take an important step in reaffirming the National Guard as a mission-focused and cost-effective force, driven by the spirit of volunteerism that is at the heart of our modern day U.S. military.

After 10 years of war and numerous domestic operations, today’s National Guard is a modern, accessible military force that trains and performs to the same standards as its active-duty counterparts. If you ask your representative and senators to support this resolution, we will continue to support our citizen-soldiers of the operational reserve and ensure the men and women of the National Guard continue to play a key role in our military, both at home and abroad, for years to come.

Please contact your senators and representative and urge them to support this resolution.

TAKE THE FOLLOWING ACTION:

By using the Write to Congress feature on the NGAUS website at www.ngaus.org, you can IMMEDIATELY email your elected representatives. A sample letter is included in Write to Congress. You can email the prewritten message or edit the sample letter as you desire. This is the quickest and most effective method of expressing your views to Congress. Also, contact your friends and family members and urge them to use Write to Congress as well. For further information and background visit our website at www.ngaus.org. Please direct any questions concerning this issue to Emily Sass, NGAUS senior legislative affairs manager for air programs, at 202-408-5893 or via email at emily.sass@ngaus.org.