August 2018 Update

On Aug. 3, Congress sent the fiscal 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to President Donald Trump for his signature.  The NDAA contains several provisions beneficial to the National Guard, including authorizations for:

• The secretaries of the Army and Air Force to adjust the effective date of promotion for National Guard officers experiencing undue delays in federal recognition of state-approved promotions;
• AH-64 Apache and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters for the Army Guard;
• Continued modernization funding for Air Guard A-10 Thunderbolts, C-130H Hercules, F-15C Eagles, and F-16 Vipers;
• Reserve-component service members serving under 12304b orders to receive high-deployment allowance accrual, and nonreduction in pay protections for those who are federal employees in their civilian capacity; and
• The National Guard Counterdrug and DoD STARBASE programs.

The legislative staff is working on resolutions from state associations that will be considered at the 140th General Conference & Exhibition this month in New Orleans. Prior to the conference, the legislative staff reviews the proposed resolutions and input from NGAUS Task Forces and the National Guard Bureau. The resolutions adopted at the conference become part of the NGAUS lobbying platform for the upcoming legislative cycle.