Washington, DC - U.S. Representative Mike Rogers (R-AL), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, urged Speaker Pelosi to cancel any recesses or “Committee Work Weeks” until a clean supplemental to fund the National Guard is signed into law.
In the letter, Ranking Member Rogers writes, “Without securing urgent funding, Army and Air National Guard units will be forced to cancel planned Annual Training and Inactive Duty for Training in August and September. Any cancelation of planned training will result in harm to readiness levels and maintenance shortfalls that degrade the National Guard’s ability to meet national security commitments. Congress must not let this happen.”
The full text of the letter is below:
Dear Speaker Pelosi:
Earlier this year, the National Guard was called on for a longer-than-necessary deployment to the Capitol, resulting in millions of dollars being obligated after any known threat had abated. This resulted in a combined cost to the Army and Air National Guard of almost $521 million, according to an estimate from by the National Guard Bureau. Without securing urgent funding, Army and Air National Guard units will be forced to cancel planned Annual Training and Inactive Duty for Training in August and September. Any cancelation of planned training will result in harm to readiness levels and maintenance shortfalls that degrade the National Guard’s ability to meet national security commitments. Congress must not let this happen.
The supplemental, passed by the House in a partisan manner in May, languishes in the Democrat-controlled Senate over concerns of extraneous spending. This partisan bill harms our National Guard. We must come together and pass a clean supplemental to ensure the National Guard, which remained unnecessarily at the Capitol with your support, has the funds needed to train for and fulfil their mission. I urge you to cancel any recesses or “Committee Work Weeks” until a supplemental appropriation is signed into law.
Sincerely,
Jul 12, 2021
Press Release