Political Quotes

“Mr. President, today I introduce the National Guard Technician Equity Act to correct inconsistencies in the dual-status technician program. Over 48,000 National Guard dual-status technicians serve our Nation. They are a distinct group of workers, as civilians, they work for the reserve components, performing administrative duties, providing training, and maintaining and repairing equipment. However, as a condition of their civilian position, they are also required to maintain military status, attending weekend drills and annual training, deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan, and responding to domestic disasters and emergencies, thereby creating their ``dual-status.'' Because of their unique position, dual-status technicians are caught between the provisions that govern the federal civilian workforce and the military in numerous ways. First, under existing law, a dual-status technician who is no longer fit for military duty must be fired from their technician position, even if they are still fully capable of performing their civilian duties. This bill would give technicians the option of remaining in their civilian position if they have 20 years of service as a dual-status technician. This way we will retain the experience and skills of these dedicated employees. Second, dual-status technicians do not have the same appeal rights as most other federal employees, including those civilians in other Department of Defense positions.…”