SANTA FE – Today, Lieutenant Governor John Sanchez joined nearly forty of his peers from across the nation in a letter to the President, opposing proposed cuts to the National Guard. Tomorrow, General Frank Grass, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, is scheduled to testify before the United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for Defense regarding proposed reductions found in various versions of the Defense Department's fiscal 2015 budget.
“On the eve of this very important congressional hearing, I am proud to join my colleagues in asking President Obama and Congress to reconsider federal funding cuts to our states’ National Guards,” said Lieutenant Governor Sanchez. “In New Mexico, our guardsmen and women have played a pivotal role in our nation’s homeland security and they continue to provide unparalleled service to our state during wildfire, flood, and other storm-related emergencies.”
In a recent report, the National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force concluded that the National Guard is both a cost-effective, invaluable force, and a critical component of the total force structure. However, various proposed cuts found in the fiscal 2015 budget would return National Guard funding to a pre‐9/11 level.
“As state leaders, these lieutenant governors, secretaries of state, and senate presidents respect the need to review, modernize, and balance budgets,” said Julia Hurst, Executive Director of the National Lieutenant Governors Association (NLGA). “But they request that this budgetary scrutiny include transparent, careful examination of the cost effectiveness of the National Guard and the essential nature of its service to states and territories.”