Drill Weekend Talking Points: March 2017
Update From Washington
The 115th Congress is in full swing. The Democrat Caucus and Republican Conference conducted their retreats in January, new and returning members jostled for committee, and subcommittee, assignments and congress.gov is becoming populated with new legislative proposals. On the other side of Pennsylvania Avenue, President Trump is considering cabinet appointments, and is putting together a team to construct a Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18) budget request to be delivered to Congress. The Congressional Defense Committees expect the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to deliver a detailed budget by June. On Monday, February 27, Mr. Mulvaney, OMB Director released a “skinny budget” and stated that, “the administration’s fiscal 2018 budget would include $462 billion in domestic funding and $603 billion in defense spending” (POLITICO).
Before Congress can consider the FY18 budget, it must pass the FY17 budget or extend the Continuing Resolution (CR) which is set to expire on April 28th. If Congress considers the FY17 budget, defense hawks want a budget amendment to increase the Department of Defense’s budget. However, fiscal conservatives and many Democrats are weary of increased spending. Conservatives are disinterested in adding to the national debt and many Democrats want increases to non-defense priorities too. Time will tell if DOD gets a budget increase, but one thing we do know is that the budget amendment would address readiness and modernization accounts, two areas neglected in the previous Congress.
Furthermore, the services would like to see end strength increases to meet the challenges in Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Pacific. Adding to the end strengths sounds like a great plan, but there must be increased spending in acquisition, research and development, and training accounts to ensure Washington does not inadvertently “hollow out” the forces. There must be enough money to build the infrastructure and train on the equipment to keep a larger force ready for the fight. The EANGUS National Office is watching the spending debate closely and is well prepared to engage DOD and Congress to ensure that the National Guard receives modernized equipment and training support.
Guard Recruiting Assistance Program (G-RAP) Update
During the legislative workshop and Executive Council meeting, the Guard Recruiting Assistance Program (G-RAP) surfaced. One member attending the workshop has first-hand experience with the heavy-handed G-RAP interrogation techniques used by Army CID agents and related his personal experience to not only the Executive Council in their meeting, but also to the House National Guard and Reserve Component Caucus co-chairs, Representatives Tim Walz (D-MN) and Steve Palazzo (R-MS) at the awards reception. The elected officials immediately engaged the NCO and will be following up with him as they investigate the issue more fully. EANGUS is committed to bringing light to this issue and stop the investigations of innocent Guard members.
Cyber Symposium
On March 15, 2017, EANGUS, the Reserve Officers Association, and NGAUS will host a cyber symposium in Washington, D.C. During the event, Members of Congress, their staffs, representatives of each of the Services, and corporate partners will engage on how best to utilize Reserve Component cyber capabilities moving forward. The Senate Armed Services Committee created a new Cybersecurity Subcommittee charged with overseeing the all DOD policies and programs related to cyber forces and capabilities. As the 115th Congress studies the nation’s cyber capabilities, EANGUS is positioned to educate members about what the Guard brings to the fight, and advocate for additional Cyber Protection Teams and continued funding.
EANGUS HQ
On Wednesday, March 1, the EANGUS National Office staff moved into its new home at the National Guard Memorial Building at One Massachusetts Avenue NW, Suite 880, Washington, D.C. The office space is conveniently located directly across from the Senate Office Buildings on Capitol Hill. For those EANGUS members who travel to Washington each year to meet with members of your delegation, please make sure to pay us a visit.