Davis Asks for Hearing on DoD Support of National Guard Missions
Request Follows Yesterday's Letter on Walter Reed Hearings

February 21, 2007

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA), ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, sent a letter today to Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) requesting a hearing to examine chronic deficiencies in Department of Defense support for homeland security and civil support missions of the National Guard. The request comes on the heels of two GAO reports Davis requested -- one that found DoD has not adequately addressed Guard equipment and training requirements, and another released yesterday detailing how Army units charged with chemical and biological attack response, most of whom are Reservists, are woefully under-staffed and under-equipped.

Today's letter to Chairman Waxman follows a letter Davis sent yesterday asking for a field hearing at Walter Reed Army Medical Center on the treatment and processing of wounded soldiers.

"As we continue to ask more of the National Guard, it's our job to make sure they're adequately staffed, equipped, and trained to perform their missions at home," Davis said. "I'm asking for these hearings because it's abundantly clear they are not. First we don't give them the training and equipment they need. Then we subject them to uncaring and uncoordinated care when they're wounded. Hearings on these issues should be a top priority for Congress."

Davis said the Committee needs to examine a key finding from yesterday's GAO report on chemical/biological readiness: Even though 12 of the 15 National Planning Scenarios issued by the Homeland Security Council involve chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or high-yield explosive response, the ability of Army chemical and biological units, especially National Guard and Reserve units, to concurrently perform both their original war-fighting chemical and biological defense mission and their homeland defense mission is doubtful.



Copies of both letters are below. The GAO reports can be found at www.gao.gov.

Davis Requests Hearing on Walter Reed Army Medical Center

Davis Requests Hearing on DoD Support of National Guard Missions