|
|
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
|
|
|
WHEREAS, The Texas National Guard has served Texas well and |
|
|
faithfully since its origins as a militia during the Republic of |
|
|
Texas era and continues to serve our state and nation, both at home |
|
|
and abroad; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The Texas National Guard supports civil authorities |
|
|
in a multitude of ways that are particular to our local communities |
|
|
and to our state and region; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The militia clause of the United States Constitution |
|
|
guarantees to each state the right to maintain an organized |
|
|
militia, the function of the National Guard, for the protection and |
|
|
defense of its citizens; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The Texas National Guard plans, trains, and conducts |
|
|
exercises with local, state, and federal officials to provide |
|
|
relief under the control of the governor of Texas during |
|
|
emergencies and disasters that may befall the State of Texas or any |
|
|
other state; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, State control of the Texas National Guard in the |
|
|
event of such emergencies is critical to execution of the National |
|
|
Response Plan, the Texas State Emergency Management Plan, city and |
|
|
county emergency plans, and all intrastate and interstate mutual |
|
|
aid arrangements such as the Emergency Management Assistance |
|
|
Compact; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Placing the Texas National Guard under federal |
|
|
control without the consent of the governor of Texas would |
|
|
undermine the Texas National Guard's effectiveness and deprive the |
|
|
State of Texas of the ability to perform its most essential |
|
|
function, the protection of its own citizens; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Section 1076 of the John Warner National Defense |
|
|
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 (Pub. L. No. 109-364), which |
|
|
was adopted without any public hearing, improvidently amended the |
|
|
federal Insurrection Act by authorizing the president of the United |
|
|
States to impose federal control over the National Guard, without |
|
|
notice, consultation, or consent of the nation's governors, in the |
|
|
event of a "natural disaster, epidemic or other serious public |
|
|
emergency, terrorist attack or incident"; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The unilateral presidential authority conferred by |
|
|
Section 1076 of Public Law 109-364 is similarly devoid of any |
|
|
required consultation or consent of the United States Congress; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The provisions of Section 1076 of Public Law 109-364 |
|
|
were signed into law despite the opposition of the nation's |
|
|
governors acting on behalf of their respective sovereign states; |
|
|
and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Imposing presidential control over the Texas |
|
|
National Guard for domestic purposes without the consent of the |
|
|
governor of Texas would compromise the unity of effort needed |
|
|
between local, state, and federal authorities in times of domestic |
|
|
peril and would undermine the speed and efficiency with which the |
|
|
Texas National Guard responds, under the governor's control, to |
|
|
emergencies within the State of Texas and in support of other |
|
|
states; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, S. 513 and H.R. 869, if enacted into law, will |
|
|
rescind the objectionable provisions of Section 1076 of Public Law |
|
|
109-364; now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the 80th Legislature of the State of Texas |
|
|
hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to |
|
|
ensure state control of the National Guard by enacting S. 513 and |
|
|
H.R. 869; and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
|
|
copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
|
|
the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the |
|
|
senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of the |
|
|
Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this |
|
|
resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a |
|
|
memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. |