Urges Congress to pass legislation requiring that for every 100 personnel added to active duty component of Armed Forces of the United States, 33 shall be added to National Guard.


 
 
 
     74th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2007 Regular Session
 
NOTE:  Matter within  { +  braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within  { -  braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
 { +  braces and plus signs + } .
 
 LC 3637
 
                           A-Engrossed
 
                    Senate Joint Memorial 11
                  Ordered by the Senate May 15
            Including Senate Amendments dated May 15
 
Sponsored by COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE
 
 
                             SUMMARY
 
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure.
 
    { - Urges Congress to pass legislation requiring that for
every 100 personnel added to active duty component of Armed
Forces of the United States, 33 shall be added to National
Guard. - }
   { +  Urges Congress to repeal provision of National Defense
Authorization Act that allows President to impose federal control
over National Guard without notice, consultation or consent of
Governor under certain circumstances. + }
 
                         JOINT MEMORIAL
To the President of the United States and the Senate and the
  House of Representatives of the United States of America, in
  Congress assembled:
  We, your memorialists, the Seventy-fourth Legislative Assembly
of the State of Oregon, in legislative session assembled,
respectfully represent as follows:
  Whereas the Oregon National Guard has served Oregon well and
faithfully since territorial times; and
  Whereas the approximately 8,500 men and women of Oregon's Air
National Guard and Army National Guard continue to serve our
nation and our state at home and abroad; and
  Whereas the National Guard supports civil authorities in a
multitude of ways that are particular to our local communities
and region; and
  Whereas Oregon National Guard units train with first responders
locally and statewide on specific scenarios and in disaster
preparedness exercises, establishing critical lines of
communication and uniform operating procedures for relief efforts
during emergencies and disasters that may befall the State of
Oregon or any other state; and
  Whereas state control of the National Guard in the event of
emergencies is critical to the execution of the National Response
Plan, the Oregon State Emergency Management Plan, the city and
county emergency plans and intrastate and interstate mutual aid
arrangements such as the Emergency Management Assistance Compact
and the Pacific Northwest Emergency Management Arrangement; and
  Whereas the Insurrection Act, prior to the passage of the
National Defense Authorization Act (Public Law 109-364), served
our nation well as an extraordinary remedy that allowed the
President to take control of the National Guard in the most rare
and exceptional cases, such as the use of the National Guard by
Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy to enforce Supreme Court civil
rights decisions; and
  Whereas, unless activated for purely federal service, the
National Guard is and should remain under state control with
Governors as commanders-in-chief; and
  Whereas the dual mission of the National Guard, as a
combat-ready force that can be called upon by the President and
as a first responder in domestic emergencies or disasters under
the command and control of the Governor, requires that federal
law clearly delineates a chain of command for each mission; and
  Whereas placing National Guard units under federal control
without either the consent of the Governors or any required
consultation or consent of Congress could confuse the issue of
who commands the National Guard units during a domestic emergency
and may result in an inability to respond to citizens' needs in
the event of a natural disaster or local emergency; and
  Whereas changes made to the Insurrection Act by section 1076 of
the National Defense Authorization Act create uncertainty over
the command of the National Guard in a domestic emergency by
authorizing the President to impose federal control over the
National Guard without notice, consultation or consent of
Governors in the event of 'a natural disaster, epidemic, or other
serious public emergency, terrorist attack or incident'; and
  Whereas the uncertainty with respect to the command of the
National Guard during a domestic emergency could threaten the
unity of local, state and federal efforts that is needed in times
of domestic peril and undermines the speed and efficiency with
which the National Guard responds under the Governor's control to
emergencies in Oregon and in support of other states through
state-to-state mutual aid compacts such as the Emergency
Management Assistance Compact; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Legislative Assembly of the State of
  Oregon:
  (1) The Congress of the United States is urged to repeal the
provision in section 1076 of the National Defense Authorization
Act that authorizes the President of the United States to impose
federal control over the National Guard without notice,
consultation or consent of the Governor in the event of a natural
disaster, epidemic or other serious public emergency, terrorist
attack or incident.
  (2) A copy of this memorial shall be sent to the President of
the United States, to the Senate Majority Leader, to the Speaker
of the House of Representatives and to each member of the Oregon
Congressional Delegation.
                         ----------