Washington, D.C.—The National Governors Association (NGA) issued the following statement regarding the House-Senate conference on the defense authorization bill:

With House and Senate conferees about to wrap up work on the defense authorization bill, governors again express their strong opposition to any language in the legislation that would allow the President to federalize the National Guard or reserve forces during certain emergencies and disasters.

To be clear, governors oppose the Guard and reserve provisions in both the House and Senate bills because they represent unwarranted expansions of federal authority. Either provision could result in confusion as both federal reserves and state Guard units respond to a natural disaster or emergency within a state.

Governors are ready to work with the administration and Congress to identify issues and work cooperatively on solutions to improve the nation's response to natural disasters, but at this time any language related to the Guard or reserves and natural disasters should be dropped from the final conference report.

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The National Governors Association (NGA), founded in 1908, is the instrument through which the nation's governors collectively influence the development and implementation of national policy and apply creative leadership to state issues. Its members are the governors of the 50 states, three territories and two commonwealths. The NGA Center for Best Practices helps governors and their policy advisors develop and implement innovative solutions to governance and policy challenges facing them in their states. The Center provides tailored technical assistance, tracks and evaluates state innovations and best practices and helps governors and their staff develop cutting-edge solutions to stay ahead of problems. For more information, please visit http://www.nga.org/.