WHO GUARDS THE NATIONAL GUARD? The National Guard is in trouble. It has only 56 percent of the required equipment, and several states worry about their readiness in the case of an emergency. The administration recommends neighborly sharing of equipment, which will only work if the neighboring states happen to have the equipment your state lacks. The cause for these problems is the Iraq occupation, but similar problems might become more commonplace given the way the use of the National Guard has been effectively federalized, even in peacetime:
The other hot-button issue between the governors and the president regarding the National Guard involves the Insurrection Act, the law that governs when the National Guard can be "federalized" for domestic law enforcement without the consent of a governor. A 2006 revision to the act expanded the president's power to assume control of the Guard during domestic events, something that governors say threatens to derail state disaster planning and response. Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Kit Bond (R-Mo.), co-chairmen of the Senate National Guard Caucus, have introduced a bill to repeal the changes.
-- J. Goodrich
