04.17.18

Shelby Chairs Hearing to Consider FY19 National Guard & Reserve Budget Request

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and its Subcommittee on Defense, today conducted a subcommittee hearing to review the Fiscal Year 2019 budget request for the National Guard and Reserve.

Chairman Shelby’s remarks, as prepared, are below.

“I am pleased to welcome our distinguished panel to review the budget requests of the National Guard and Reserve Components.

“Today the committee will hear from General Joseph Lengyel, Chief of the National Guard Bureau; Lieutenant General Charles Luckey, Chief of the Army Reserve; Lieutenant General Maryanne Miller, Chief of the Air Force Reserve; Vice Admiral Luke McCollum, Chief of the Navy Reserve; and Lieutenant General Rex McMillian, Commander of Marine Corps Forces Reserve.

“Our Nation’s active duty and reserve component forces are more fully integrated today than at any time in the modern era. Guardsmen and Reservists have been regularly called upon since 2001 to deploy in support of our Nation’s contingency operations abroad and to protect our citizens at home. Through programs like the Guard’s State Partnership Program, they participate in joint security cooperation activities with our international partners.

“In 2018, as in years past, we have seen our Guard and Reserve forces called upon to assist local communities devastated by natural disasters such as Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. And most recently, the President has announced his decision to send up to 4,000 National Guard troops to the Southwest border in support of the U.S. Border Patrol’s mission.

“This level of integration and cooperation with Active forces, domestic agencies, and international partners requires Guard and Reserve units to be sufficiently manned, trained, and equipped to handle their diverse mission sets. We thank you for your service and look forward to your update on the border development, as well as any resource challenges you foresee as this Committee reviews the Fiscal Year 2019 budget request.

“Now I turn to the Vice Chairman, Senator Durbin, for his opening remarks.”