00Enrolled HJR 11                                                                                                         
01 Relating to the increased authority granted to the President of the United States to federalize                         
02 the National Guard of the individual states without the consent of the governors; and urging                            
03 the United States Congress to take action to honor the sovereignty of the individual states to                          
04 regulate and command the National Guard of the states.                                                                  
05                                          _______________                                                                
06 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                             
07      WHEREAS the National Guard is the oldest component of the armed forces of the                                    
08 United States and one of the nation's longest-enduring institutions; and                                                
09      WHEREAS the National Guard traces its history back to the earliest English colonies                              
10 in North America, who were responsible for their own defense and, as such, organized their                              
11 able-bodied male citizens into militias; and                                                                            
12      WHEREAS the authors of the United States Constitution empowered the United                                       
13 States Congress to provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, and, to                                
14 recognize the militia's state role, the founding fathers reserved the appointment of officers and                       
15 training of the militia to the states; and                                                                              

01      WHEREAS the federal government's preemption of the authority of the state or                                     
02 governor in natural and manmade disasters is opposed by all of the nation's governors; and                              
03      WHEREAS the role of the National Guard in the states and in the nation as a whole is                             
04 too important to have major policy decisions made without full debate and input from                                    
05 governors through the policy process;                                                                                   
06      BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature exhorts the United States                                       
07 Congress and the federal administration to understand the significant effect on Alaska and all                          
08 the states by the expansion of presidential authority over the National Guard during natural                            
09 and manmade disasters; and be it                                                                                        
10      FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges federal action to                                       
11 honor the sovereignty of the individual states to regulate and command National Guard troops                            
12 during emergencies and disasters, and to take whatever actions are necessary to correct the                             
13 encroachment of constitutional authority to protect the citizens of each state.                                         
14      COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable George W. Bush, President                               
15 of the United States; the Honorable Richard B. Cheney, Vice-President of the United States                              
16 and President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the U.S. House of                              
17 Representatives; the Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski, U.S.                                       
18 Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska                                       
19 delegation in Congress; and all other members of the 110th United States Congress.