Feinstein bill seeks to improve National Guard emergency response efforts

A bill introduced by U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) would provide states with added flexibility to allow members of the National Guard to respond to emergencies.

Specifically, the bill would allow full-time Active Guard and Reserve (AGR) National Guard members with the ability to respond to emergencies like wildfires, flooding, and pandemics.

“The National Guard has been vital to our COVID-19 response, and in California, we rely on the National Guard every wildfire season, but states are hamstrung on how they can utilize full-time members of the Guard,” Feinstein said. “This bill would provide states with additional flexibility to use their full-time National Guard members in the most effective manner during emergencies.”

Feinstein’s office said General Daniel Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau, brought the issue to Feinstein’s attention last month, saying that state emergencies have revealed how states need flexibility in using Title 32 AGR members during emergency response operations.

The bill would permit the commander of a state’s National Guard to authorize AGR members to perform duties during a state emergency response that go beyond their primary responsibilities of organizing, administering, recruiting, instructing, and training. Additionally, it would require the state National Guard commander to determine that the activities would provide a training benefit.