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Letter to President Donald Trump, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Peter Gaynor - Congressman Gonzalez Joins Bipartisan, Bicameral Group Calling on Administration to Ensure National Guard Servicemembers on COVID-19 Front Lines Receive Benefits Earned

Letter

By: Vicente Gonzalez, Tom O'Halleran, Grace Napolitano, Lou Correa, Jason Crow, Eleanor Norton, Alcee Hastings, Sr., Cindy Axne, Richard Neal, Stephen Lynch, Jamie Raskin, Angie Craig, Roger Wicker, Chris Pappas, Bill Pascrell, Jr., Carolyn Maloney, Joe Morelle, Tim Ryan, Kurt Schrader, Susan Wild, Jeff Duncan, Lizzie Fletcher, Rob Wittman, Gerry Connolly, Richard Blumenthal, Mike Crapo, Amy Klobuchar, Richard Burr, Jacky Rosen, Bob Casey, Jr., Patrick Leahy, Shelley Capito, Steve Womack, Jimmy Panetta, Nanette Barragán, Doug Lamborn, Jim Himes, Val Demings, Tulsi Gabbard, Cedric Richmond, Seth Moulton, David Trone, Elissa Slotkin, Vicky Hartzler, Donald Bacon, Frank Pallone, Jr., Max Rose, Anthony Brindisi, Marcia Fudge, Peter DeFazio, Chrissy Houlahan, Joe Wilson, Sr., Jim Cooper, Filemon Vela, Jr., Don Beyer, Jr., Cory Gardner, Brian Schatz, Gary Peters, Steve Daines, Catherine Cortez Masto, Jeff Merkley, Tim Kaine, Joe Manchin III, Ruben Gallego, Norma Torres, Diana DeGette, Ed Perlmutter, Mike Waltz, Austin Scott, Cheri Bustos, Jim McGovern, Dutch Ruppersberger, Jared Golden, Dean Phillips, G. K. Butterfield, Jr., Annie Kuster, Deb Haaland, Kirsten Gillibrand, Brian Higgins, Anthony Gonzalez, Brian Fitzpatrick, Conor Lamb, William Timmons, Sheila Jackson Lee, Donald McEachin, Kyrsten Sinema, Chris Coons, Chris Van Hollen, Jr., Tina Smith, Thom Tillis, Sherrod Brown, Ted Cruz, Bernie Sanders, Terri Sewell, Anna Eshoo, Gil Cisneros, Joe Neguse, Joe Courtney, Darren Soto, Ed Case, Jim Banks, Lori Trahan, Anthony Brown, Jack Bergman, Lacy Clay, Jr., Alma Adams, Andy Kim, Pete King, Paul Tonko, Marcy Kaptur, Tom Cole, Dwight Evans, Jim Langevin, Scott DesJarlais, Joaquin Castro, Abigail Spanberger, Michael Bennet, Marco Rubio, Susan Collins, Cindy Hyde-Smith, John Hoeven, Ron Wyden, Mark Warner, Tammy Baldwin
Date: May 28, 2020
Location: Washington, D.C.
Issues: Entitlements and the Safety Net Health and Health Care

Dear Mr. President, Secretary Esper, and Administrator Gaynor:

We write today to raise a number of issues impacting the National Guard personnel deployed in support of the fight against Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

The National Guard has been critical in executing the nation's pandemic response efforts. Thousands of National Guard servicemembers have been providing invaluable support for testing civilians and Guard personnel, logistics and warehouse distribution, planning for Emergency Operations Centers, homelessness outreach, and much more. We also recognize that National Guard servicemembers have been supporting state efforts in high threat and high risk areas, namely, medical support to prisons; frontline testing at hot spots and critical infrastructure locations; supporting tracing operations; and providing direct care to COVID-19 positive citizens, including at care facilities like Veterans Living Centers and homeless populations.

Our national success in flattening the curve will not be possible without the contributions of the National Guard. We believe it is critical to ensure that all National Guard personnel are taken care of during this crisis and after, recognizing that the threat of COVID-19 will not immediately go away and the National Guard is likely to be called on again in the future.

Therefore, we urge you to consider our recommendations for addressing the following concerns immediately.

Federal Status: We ask that you consider keeping all National Guard servicemembers supporting the COVID-19 mission on 502(f)(2) status rather than transitioning to State Active Duty (SAD) orders regardless of future FEMA reimbursement. This will ensure healthcare commensurate with the work they are performing is available. This will also ensure they are able to continue support to the nation's effort without uncertainty of status. If orders are to be extended on a month-to-month basis, we ask that all orders are 31 days or longer in duration and that the announcement of extensions be made early in the month in order to allow for preparation by each state's leadership teams.

Leave: We are encouraged by the recent change that will allow National Guard members to sell back unused leave without penalty or roll over accrued leave to another activated status. We ask that you continue to provide National Guard members with flexibility in how they may utilize leave accrued during the COVID-19 response, and ensure necessary federal funding to support the different leave usage options.

Healthcare: We ask that you ensure the National Guard members activated in support of COVID-19 are provided Transition Assistance Management Program (TAMP) benefits for 180 days after coming off orders, similar to their Reserve counterparts.

GI Bill and Retirement Benefits: We believe that the service of National Guard members during this unprecedented emergency is deserving of the recognition intended by educational and retirement benefit programs in the spirit in which they were created. We encourage you to be inclusive of pandemic response affiliated military service to ensure that National Guard personnel are not being inappropriately prevented from accessing the benefits earned by their service.
We are proud of the incredible contributions of the National Guard. They have been a critical team member in the nation's fight against COVID-19. We welcome your support in ensuring they are kept safe, healthy, and receive the benefits they deserve.


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