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On January 30, 2009, the National Guard Bureau (NGB) released its review of the current economic stimulus plan, entitled “The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009”, a bill aimed at stimulating the American economy that includes much-needed funding for National Guard military construction and facilities maintenance. The following is a summary of what the House and Senate versions contain thus far:
Senate (S. 336) House (H.R. 1)
ARNG MILCON - $150,000 ARNG MILCON - $302,700
ARNG O&M - $215,557 ARNG O&M - $215,557
ANG MILCON - $110,000 ANG MILCON - $70,000
ANG O&M - $20,922 ANG O&M - $29,269
As a result of a congressional request, NGB identified $1.2B worth of “shovel-ready” projects ($832M for ARNG; $352.5M for the ANG). The ARNG can immediately execute $368M in facilities maintenance, while the ANG can execute $30.4 in facilities maintenance.
As Congress continues to debate “The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009”, we strongly believe that the proposal outlined in the legislation above is well below what the National Guard is able to execute during the remainder of this fiscal year. The shovel-ready projects identified by NGB will both spread economic stimulus throughout our country while improving readiness and quality-of-life for our soldiers and airmen who train, mobilize, and stage homeland defense and disaster response operation from their facilities.
To enable the National Guard to take advantage of possibly well over a billion dollars of military construction funds, NGB and Guard leaders throughout the states have moved quickly, but the message has not fully taken hold on Capitol Hill. Additionally, since many states may not have budgeted for the 25% share of construction costs for ARNG facilities, it is imperative that the legislation contain a one-time waiver to ensure these projects are able to move forward without delay.
This initiative is moving fast; NGAUS urges states to immediately contact their Senators and Representatives to garner their support for this initiative. The potential to make a significant and positive impact on readiness and job creation is before us and we must act fact.
TAKE THE FOLLOWING ACTION:
By using the “Write to Congress” feature provided below, you can IMMEDIATELY e-mail your elected representatives. A sample letter is included in our “Write to Congress” feature. You can e-mail the pre-written message or edit the sample letter as you desire. This is the quickest and most effective method of expressing your views to Congress. Also, contact your friends and family and urge them to “Write to Congress” as well. For more in-depth information and background visit our web site at http://www.ngaus.org/.
Please direct any questions concerning this issue to Pete Duffy, NGAUS Deputy Legislative Director and NGAUS Joint Programs Manager at 202-454-5307 or email: pete.duffy@ngaus.org. | 
