Patrick Leahy: “it is now fairly common on the Senate Floor to hear the statement that we cannot adequately defend our Nation today…”

“it is now fairly common on the Senate Floor to hear the statement that we cannot adequately defend our Nation today without our military reserves. Everybody knows that the activation of members of the National Guard and Reserve since September 11, 2001, represents the largest mobilization of our back-up military personnel since World War II. Everyone knows too that members of the National Guard and Reserve comprise over 50 percent of the forces on the ground in Iraq. And, yes, we all know that we are asking the reserves, particularly the National Guard, to help increase security within the domestic United States, whether at prominent events or along our porous national borders. It is critical that we go beyond mere statements and take concrete steps to preserve the readiness, morale, and general effectiveness of this force. This imperative extends particularly to redressing harmful policies that give the impression to our reservists that they are not an equally important part of the wider military and the defense of the Nation. Today Senator Bond and I are introducing legislation that will end one of the most glaring of these inequities. Our legislation, The National Guard and Reserves Housing Equity Act of 2005, effectively terminates a patently unfair low housing allowance provided to reservists when they are called up for a relatively short-term of active service.…”