Sponsors
The bill expands States' ability to use AGR National Guard personnel for disaster response—improving surge capacity and protecting federal budgets—while shifting costs and some legal risks to States, which raises readiness, fiscal, and liability trade-offs for local communities and service members.
Residents and disaster-affected communities gain access to more trained National Guard personnel for state-led emergency responses because State governments can order AGR (Active Guard Reserve) members to respond to disasters with DoD consent.
Federal taxpayers are protected from new costs because States must reimburse the federal government for fully burdened manpower costs when AGR members are used for state disaster response.
Military personnel and state authorities face a time-limited obligation because the law imposes a short statutory cap (14 days, with limited extensions) on AGR diversion to State disaster response, limiting prolonged disruption of primary duties.
Military personnel and the broader public risk degraded reserve readiness because shifting AGR members to state disaster response can pull them away from organizing, training, and other readiness duties.
State and local governments (and thereby local residents) face significant fiscal strain because they must pay full manpower costs for AGR deployments, which could force cuts or diversion of funds from other public services during disasters.
Injured civilians may have reduced ability to seek recovery because the shift of tort liability away from the United States could leave plaintiffs with limited recourse and push legal risk onto States or individuals.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Introduced December 11, 2025 by Gary C. Peters · Last progress December 11, 2025
Authorizes a State governor who has declared an emergency to order National Guard members serving on Active Guard and Reserve (AGR) duty to perform state disaster response or preparedness tasks with the Secretary of Defense’s consent. Such duty must be reimbursed by the State, generally may not interfere with AGR primary duties, is limited to 14 days per member per calendar year with narrow Secretary‑authorized extensions, and includes a federal regulation deadline of 180 days after enactment.