Norton Introduces Legislation to Offer DC National Guard Members Funding for Education (5/7/09)
Norton Introduces Legislation to Offer D.C. National Guard Members Funding for Post-Secondary Education and
Give Mayor Fenty Authority to Call Up D.C. National Guard
May 7, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC - As the 547th Transportation Company of the D.C. National Guard left for Iraq last Saturday, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) told them she would introduce two bills in their honor. Today the Congresswoman introduced the D.C. National Guard Retention and College Access Act to authorize permanent funding for post-secondary education tuition for members of the D.C. National Guard, and the D.C. Executive National Guard Act to give Mayor Adrian Fenty authority to call up the D.C. National Guard in the event of natural disasters or civil disobedience.
The Congresswoman said the D.C. National Guard must be able to attract and retain the best soldiers, especially given its unique mission of protecting the federal presence in addition to D.C. residents. Offering grants for secondary education tuition to the members of the D.C. National Guard could help stem the loss of D.C. National Guard members to units in surrounding states that offer such benefits. Norton had succeeded in getting higher education grants in the past, matched by a smaller amount from the District, but her D.C. National Guard Retention and College Access Act would permanently authorize funding.
Norton's other bill, the D.C. Executive National Guard Act, would bring the District of Columbia in line with other jurisdictions. National Guards in the 50 states operate under dual and local jurisdiction, and the Mayor of the District of Columbia should have the same authority as other heads of state, Norton said. "The Mayor, who knows the city better than any federal official and who works closely with federal officials should be able to call on the D.C. National Guard to cover local natural disasters or civil disturbances without relying on the President, who should be preoccupied with national disasters, including homeland security matters," Norton said. "Procedures that require the Mayor to request assistance from the President for a local National Guard matter is as old as the republic, and as dangerously obsolete."