NGAUS Pushes Bill to Pay Troops During Shutdown

NGAUS is leading the charge of National Guard and Reserve associations asking Congress to help pay service members on duty during the government shutdown, which is now in its second week.

More than 1.3 million U.S. service members are currently on duty around the world without pay.  This includes several thousand Guardsmen and Reservists on federal active duty and those in the full-time Active Guard and Reserve program.

Retired Maj. Gen. Francis M. McGinn, the NGAUS president — along with his counterparts at the Adjutants General Association, the Reserve Organization of America and the Enlisted Association of the National Guard— signed letters Oct. 2 asking key lawmakers to support legislation that would reduce the economic hardships personnel on active duty now face.

One of the letters went to Reps. Tom Cole, R-Okla, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, and Rose DeLauro, R-Conn., the committee’s ranking Democrat.

Guard and Reserve association leaders asked the two to “swiftly pass” the Pay Our Troops Act (H.R. 5401) introduced by Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va.

H.R. 5401 would ensure all active-duty service members and Department of War civilian employees are paid until regular appropriations are passed into law.

Kiggans introduced the measure Sept. 16 with 49 co-sponsors. It now has the support of 122 House members.

Housed leaders referred the legislation to the House Appropriations Committee for initial action.

“Asking service members to report for duty with no pay degrades morale and creates hardship on military families,” the Guard and Reserve association leaders wrote.

A second letter went to Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., the chairs of the Senate National Guard Caucus.

The Guard and Reserve associations asked their Senate supporters to introduce and pass a Senate companion bill to H.R. 5401.

The shutdown also impacts traditional, part-time Guardsmen and Reservists. Many of their weekend training assemblies will be cancelled, which means a loss of valuable training and a paycheck.