U.S. Senator Ken Salazar

Member of the Agriculture, Energy and Veterans Affairs Committees

 

2300 15th Street, Suite 450 Denver, CO 80202 | 702 Hart Senate Building, Washington, D.C. 20510

 

 

For Immediate Release

January 27, 2006

CONTACT:    Cody Wertz – Comm. Director

                        303-455-7600

Andrew Nannis  – Press Secretary

                        202-224-5852


 Sen. Salazar Calls on Defense Department to Fully Fund National Guard Equipment Needs

Washington, DC – Senator Ken Salazar joined a bipartisan group of Senators in co-sponsoring a resolution calling on the Department of Defense to fully fund the equipment needs of the National Guard and to seek input from Congress and Governors when deciding future changes to the Guard.

The guard is experiencing equipment deficiencies all over the country including shortages of humvees, rough terrain trucks, over-the-road tractors, wreckers, semi-trailers, communication equipment and weapon mounts for trucks. Meanwhile, recent press reports have indicated the Department of Defense will be requesting cuts in National Guard personnel levels to Congress in the FY2007 defense budget.

“Our National Guard must have the equipment necessary to continue to protect America,” Senator Salazar said. “From helping Coloradans during a natural disaster or a search and rescue mission to fighting for America overseas, the men and women who serve our country in the National Guard deserve our support. Their mission is too important to leave them without the proper equipment.”

The resolution calls for the Department of Defense to:

  • Fully fund the equipment needs of the National Guard;
  • Consult with Congress and the nation’s Governors as soon as possible on any proposed changes to the National Guard force structure;
  • Consider the National Guard’s role in homeland defense when considering the National Guard’s force structure;
  • Create budget projections that detail cost savings from any National Guard force structure changes, as well as projected costs in the event large personnel increases are necessary to respond to a homeland defense emergency;
  • Ensure Congress and our nation’s governors that potential personnel cuts will not impact the safety and security of the American people.

The resolution is supported by the National Guard Association of the United States. Also, current co-sponsors of the bipartisan resolution include Senators: Ken Salazar (CO), Ben Nelson (NE), Lindsey Graham (SC), George Allen (VA), Jim Talent (MO), Elizabeth Dole (NC), Olympia Snowe (ME), Lisa Murkowski (AK), John Thune (SD), Johnny Isakson (GA), Mike DeWine (OH), Tim Johnson (SD), Richard Durbin (IL), Robert Menendez (NJ), Mary Landrieu (LA), Bill Nelson (FL), Tom Harkin (IA), Byron Dorgan (ND), Frank Lautenberg (NJ), Jeff Bingaman (NM), Daniel Akaka (HI), Max Baucus (MT), Hillary Clinton (NY), Herb Kohl (WI), Barbara Mikulski (AK), Evan Bayh (IN), Maria Cantwell (WA), Mark Pryor (AR), Joseph Lieberman (CT), Joseph Biden (DE), Kent Conrad (ND), Edward Kennedy (MA), Russell Feingold (WI), and Susan Collins (ME).

###