Bill Summary
This legislation is called the "District of Columbia National Guard Home Rule Act" and its purpose is to give the mayor of the District of Columbia the same authority over the National Guard as governors of states have over their respective state's National Guard. This includes the administration of the National Guard and its use in response to natural disasters and civil disturbances. The Act also makes changes to various sections of existing law, including extending the authority of the mayor to act as the Commander-in-Chief of the National Guard, allowing for the appointment of commissioned officers by the mayor, and making the mayor responsible for calling the National Guard to duty. The Act also makes conforming amendments to other sections of US Code and the District of Columbia Home Rule Act.
Possible Impacts
1. This legislation could affect the Mayor of the District of Columbia by giving them additional authority over the National Guard, allowing them to make decisions in response to natural disasters and civil disturbances.
2. It could also affect members of the National Guard by changing the chain of command, with the Mayor now being their commander-in-chief instead of the President.
3. Additionally, it could impact the District of Columbia by including it in certain laws and regulations that were previously only applicable to states, such as the Drug Interdiction and Counter-Drug Activities section of Title 32 of the United States Code.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3981 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3981
To extend to the Mayor of the District of Columbia the same authority
over the National Guard of the District of Columbia as the Governors of
the several States exercise over the National Guard of those States
with respect to administration of the National Guard and its use to
respond to natural disasters and other civil disturbances, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 17, 2020
Mr. Van Hollen (for himself, Mr. Carper, Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Baldwin,
Mr. Markey, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Cardin, and Mr. Durbin)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Armed Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To extend to the Mayor of the District of Columbia the same authority
over the National Guard of the District of Columbia as the Governors of
the several States exercise over the National Guard of those States
with respect to administration of the National Guard and its use to
respond to natural disasters and other civil disturbances, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``District of Columbia National Guard
Home Rule Act''.
SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF NATIONAL GUARD AUTHORITIES TO MAYOR OF THE
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.
(a) Mayor as Commander-in-Chief.--Section 6 of the Act entitled
``An Act to provide for the organization of the militia of the District
of Columbia, and for other purposes'', approved March 1, 1889 (sec. 49-
409, D.C. Official Code), is amended by striking ``President of the
United States'' and inserting ``Mayor of the District of Columbia''.
(b) Reserve Corps.--Section 72 of such Act (sec. 49-407, D.C.
Official Code) is amended by striking ``President of the United
States'' each place it appears and inserting ``Mayor of the District of
Columbia''.
(c) Appointment of Commissioned Officers.--(1) Section 7(a) of such
Act (sec. 49-301(a), D.C. Official Code) is amended--
(A) by striking ``President of the United States'' and
inserting ``Mayor of the District of Columbia''; and
(B) by striking ``President.'' and inserting ``Mayor.''.
(2) Section 9 of such Act (sec. 49-304, D.C. Official Code) is
amended by striking ``President'' and inserting ``Mayor of the District
of Columbia''.
(3) Section 13 of such Act (sec. 49-305, D.C. Official Code) is
amended by striking ``President of the United States'' and inserting
``Mayor of the District of Columbia''.
(4) Section 19 of such Act (sec. 49-311, D.C. Official Code) is
amended--
(A) in subsection (a), by striking ``to the Secretary of
the Army'' and all that follows through ``which board'' and
inserting ``to a board of examination appointed by the
Commanding General, which''; and
(B) in subsection (b), by striking ``the Secretary of the
Army'' and all that follows through the period and inserting
``the Mayor of the District of Columbia, together with any
recommendations of the Commanding General.''.
(5) Section 20 of such Act (sec. 49-312, D.C. Official Code) is
amended--
(A) by striking ``President of the United States'' each
place it appears and inserting ``Mayor of the District of
Columbia''; and
(B) by striking ``the President may retire'' and inserting
``the Mayor may retire''.
(d) Call for Duty.--(1) Section 45 of such Act (sec. 49-103, D.C.
Official Code) is amended by striking ``, or for the United States
Marshal'' and all that follows through ``shall thereupon order'' and
inserting ``to order''.
(2) Section 46 of such Act (sec. 49-104, D.C. Official Code) is
amended by striking ``the President'' and inserting ``the Mayor of the
District of Columbia''.
(e) General Courts Martial.--Section 51 of such Act (sec. 49-503,
D.C. Official Code) is amended by striking ``the President of the
United States'' and inserting ``the Mayor of the District of
Columbia''.
SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 10, UNITED STATES CODE.
(a) Failure to Satisfactorily Perform Prescribed Training.--Section
10148(b) of title 10, United States Code, is amended by striking ``the
commanding general of the District of Columbia National Guard'' and
inserting ``the Mayor of the District of Columbia''.
(b) Appointment of Chief of National Guard Bureau.--Section
10502(a)(1) of such title is amended by striking ``the commanding
general of the District of Columbia National Guard'' and inserting
``the Mayor of the District of Columbia''.
(c) Vice Chief of National Guard Bureau.--Section 10505(a)(1)(A) of
such title is amended by striking ``the commanding general of the
District of Columbia National Guard'' and inserting ``the Mayor of the
District of Columbia''.
(d) Other Senior National Guard Bureau Officers.--Section
10506(a)(1) of such title is amended by striking ``the commanding
general of the District of Columbia National Guard'' both places it
appears and inserting ``the Mayor of the District of Columbia''.
(e) Consent for Active Duty or Relocation.--(1) Section 12301 of
such title is amended--
(A) in subsection (b), by striking ``commanding general of
the District of Columbia National Guard'' in the second
sentence and inserting ``Mayor of the District of Columbia'';
and
(B) in subsection (d), by striking the period at the end
and inserting the following: ``, or, in the case of the
District of Columbia National Guard, the Mayor of the District
of Columbia.''.
(2) Section 12406 of such title is amended by striking ``the
commanding general of the National Guard of the District of Columbia''
and inserting ``the Mayor of the District of Columbia''.
(f) Consent for Relocation of Units.--Section 18238 of such title
is amended by striking ``the commanding general of the National Guard
of the District of Columbia'' and inserting ``the Mayor of the District
of Columbia''.
SEC. 4. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 32, UNITED STATES CODE.
(a) Maintenance of Other Troops.--Section 109(c) of title 32,
United States Code, is amended by striking ``(or commanding general in
the case of the District of Columbia)''.
(b) Drug Interdiction and Counter-Drug Activities.--Section
112(h)(2) of such title is amended by striking ``the Commanding General
of the National Guard of the District of Columbia'' and inserting ``the
Mayor of the District of Columbia''.
(c) Additional Assistance.--Section 113 of such title is amended by
adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(e) Inclusion of District of Columbia.--In this section, the term
`State' includes the District of Columbia.''.
(d) Appointment of Adjutant General.--Section 314 of such title is
amended--
(1) by striking subsection (b);
(2) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as subsections
(b) and (c), respectively; and
(3) in subsection (b) (as so redesignated), by striking
``the commanding general of the District of Columbia National
Guard'' and inserting ``the Mayor of the District of
Columbia,''.
(e) Relief From National Guard Duty.--Section 325(a)(2)(B) of such
title is amended by striking ``commanding general of the District of
Columbia National Guard'' and inserting ``the Mayor of the District of
Columbia''.
(f) Authority To Order To Perform Active Guard and Reserve Duty.--
(1) Authority.--Subsection (a) of section 328 of such title
is amended by striking ``the commanding general'' and inserting
``the Mayor of the District of Columbia after consultation with
the commanding general''.
(2) Clerical amendments.--
(A) Section heading.--The heading of such section
is amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 328. Active Guard and Reserve duty: authority of chief
executive''.
(B) Table of sections.--The table of sections at
the beginning of chapter 3 of such title is amended by
striking the item relating to section 328 and inserting
the following new item:
``328. Active Guard and Reserve duty: authority of chief executive.''.
(g) Personnel Matters.--Section 505 of such title is amended by
striking ``commanding general of the National Guard of the District of
Columbia'' in the first sentence and inserting ``Mayor of the District
of Columbia''.
(h) National Guard Challenge Program.--Section 509 of such title is
amended--
(1) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ``the commanding
general of the District of Columbia National Guard, under which
the Governor or the commanding general'' and inserting ``the
Mayor of the District of Columbia, under which the Governor or
the Mayor'';
(2) in subsection (g)(2), by striking ``the commanding
general of the District of Columbia National Guard'' and
inserting ``the Mayor of the District of Columbia'';
(3) in subsection (j), by striking ``the commanding general
of the District of Columbia National Guard'' and inserting
``the Mayor of the District of Columbia''; and
(4) in subsection (k), by striking ``the commanding general
of the District of Columbia National Guard'' and inserting
``the Mayor of the District of Columbia''.
(i) Issuance of Supplies.--Section 702(a) of such title is amended
by striking ``commanding general of the National Guard of the District
of Columbia'' and inserting ``Mayor of the District of Columbia''.
(j) Appointment of Fiscal Officer.--Section 708(a) of such title is
amended by striking ``commanding general of the National Guard of the
District of Columbia'' and inserting ``Mayor of the District of
Columbia''.
SEC. 5. CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA HOME RULE ACT.
Section 602(b) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act (sec. 1-
206.02(b), D.C. Official Code) is amended by striking ``the National
Guard of the District of Columbia,''.
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