Sponsors
The bill gives governors predictable short-term access to AGR National Guard personnel for disaster response, but shifts costs, legal liability, and the risk of suspended support onto States—potentially disrupting response and increasing state/local fiscal and legal exposure.
State and local governments can request AGR National Guard members for state disaster response with DoD consent for predictable short-term periods (initial 14 days, with limited 7- or 46-day extensions), increasing surge capacity and planning certainty for emergencies.
State and local governments and affected communities face the risk that DoD can suspend AGR support if a State is more than 90 days late on reimbursement, potentially interrupting disaster response and recovery operations.
State and local governments (and ultimately local taxpayers) must reimburse full manpower costs for AGR support from non‑Federal funds, increasing state/local fiscal burdens and potentially diverting funds from other services.
AGR members used for State duty under this authority remain not U.S. instrumentalities and the U.S. disclaims liability, leaving States and their taxpayers responsible for claims arising from their use.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Allows States to use AGR National Guard members for state disaster response with Defense Secretary consent, sets reimbursement rules, time limits, and liability protections for the United States.
Introduced December 11, 2025 by Gary C. Peters · Last progress December 11, 2025
Authorizes States to use National Guard members who are serving on Active Guard and Reserve (AGR) duty to perform state disaster response work with the consent of the Secretary of Defense, subject to reimbursement and time limits. It requires States to pay fully burdened manpower costs, limits routine use to 14 days per member per year (with short and extended Secretary-authorized exceptions), preserves the Guard members' primary AGR duties, shifts legal liability away from the United States for these uses, and directs the Secretary of Defense to issue implementing regulations within 180 days of enactment.