1.1                             A resolution
  1.2             memorializing the President of the United States and 
  1.3             Congress to provide increased benefits to members of 
  1.4             the National Guard and other Reserve Components of the 
  1.5             United States Armed Forces who are engaged in the 
  1.6             nation's Global War on Terrorism. 
  1.7      
  1.8      WHEREAS, Congress, in bipartisan efforts, is currently 
  1.9   considering various alternatives for enhancing benefits for 
  1.10  National Guard and Reserve members in recognition of their 
  1.11  ongoing sacrifices for the nation; and 
  1.12     WHEREAS, those who dedicate their lives to protecting our 
  1.13  nation's precious freedoms during times of war and peace perform 
  1.14  a brave and valuable service to our state and nation and are 
  1.15  deserving of special legislative recognition; and 
  1.16     WHEREAS, in recent years, the United States has suffered 
  1.17  significant loss of life and property in terrorist attacks, both 
  1.18  at home and abroad, including the 1993 bombing of the World 
  1.19  Trade Center in New York City; the 1995 bombing of the U.S. 
  1.20  training center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; the 1996 bombing of the 
  1.21  Khobar Towers in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia; the 1998 bombings of the 
  1.22  American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania; the 2000 bombing of 
  1.23  the USS Cole in Yemen; and the 9/11/2001 attacks on the twin 
  1.24  towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and the 
  1.25  Pentagon in Washington, D.C.; and 
  1.26     WHEREAS, the United States is now engaged in a Global War 
  2.1   on Terrorism on several domestic and international fronts, being 
  2.2   fought by all of the nation's security forces with the 
  2.3   assistance of foreign allies, but primarily by the United States 
  2.4   Armed Forces; and 
  2.5      WHEREAS, the size of the active duty U.S. military forces 
  2.6   has been steadily reduced by approximately one-third since the 
  2.7   collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, such that National Guard 
  2.8   and Reserve troops now account for nearly one-half of the United 
  2.9   States' total military strength; and 
  2.10     WHEREAS, the U.S. Department of Defense has mobilized more 
  2.11  National Guard and Reserve members for the Global War on 
  2.12  Terrorism than for any other national emergency since World War 
  2.13  II; and 
  2.14     WHEREAS, nearly 40 percent of U.S. military personnel 
  2.15  currently serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation 
  2.16  Enduring Freedom are National Guard and Reserve troops who are 
  2.17  serving valiantly and patriotically in a manner equivalent to 
  2.18  the service of our regular active duty troops; and 
  2.19     WHEREAS, National Guard and Reserve members must be highly 
  2.20  skilled and fully cross-trained for both domestic emergency and 
  2.21  counter-terrorism missions and expeditionary deployments abroad, 
  2.22  and since 9/11/2001 they are being deployed periodically for 
  2.23  both types of missions; and 
  2.24     WHEREAS, the sacrifices of all of the activated National 
  2.25  Guard and Reserve troops and their families include, but are not 
  2.26  limited to, the following burdens and risks: 
  2.27     * enduring extended and often abrupt separations from 
  2.28     family and loved ones, sometimes repeatedly, frequently 
  2.29     lasting for 18 months or more; 
  2.30     * postponement of educational and other career development 
  2.31     and advancement opportunities; 
  2.32     * forfeiting civilian job compensation and benefits, while 
  2.33     often incurring additional expenditures and increased 
  2.34     personal and family debt; 
  2.35     * facing the grave physical and psychological dangers of 
  2.36     advanced military training and deployment to hostile 
  2.37     regions of the globe, including involvement in actual 
  2.38     combat for many soldiers, and the constant fear of death or 
  2.39     maiming from roadside bombs, conventional weapons, and 
  2.40     other terrorist weapons; 
  2.41     * facing death or injury, as National Guard and Reserve 
  3.1      troops have suffered several dozen combat deaths - 
  3.2      comprising over 12 percent of the total U.S. military 
  3.3      deaths to date in the Global War on Terrorism - and a 
  3.4      proportionate share, as well, of the more than 3,000 total 
  3.5      combat injuries to date; and 
  3.6      * enduring the challenges and difficulties of transitioning 
  3.7      back into civilian life following each deployment, while 
  3.8      preparing oneself, one's family, and one's employer for the 
  3.9      anticipated next future deployment into active military 
  3.10     duty; and 
  3.11     WHEREAS, the various federal benefits for National Guard 
  3.12  and Reserve troops serving in active duty are often 
  3.13  significantly less than those received by the full-time military 
  3.14  personnel serving beside them in equivalent and often identical 
  3.15  roles; and 
  3.16     WHEREAS, it is crucial that the nation be able to retain 
  3.17  these highly trained and very capable citizen-soldier volunteers 
  3.18  within the National Guard and Reserves following the completion 
  3.19  of each deployment into active military service; NOW, THEREFORE, 
  3.20     BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota 
  3.21  that it urges the President and Congress to increase benefits 
  3.22  for National Guard and Reserve members serving in the nation's 
  3.23  global war on terrorism, as follows: 
  3.24     * by designating full <i>veterans status</i> for National Guard 
  3.25     and Reserve members who have been ordered to active 
  3.26     military duty under U.S.C., Title 10 or Title 32, and who 
  3.27     provide honorable service for the time period so ordered; 
  3.28     and 
  3.29     * by providing eligibility to National Guard and Reserve 
  3.30     members who are ordered to active military duty under 
  3.31     U.S.C., Title 10 or Title 32, for a cumulative period of 
  3.32     180 days or more to enroll in the active duty GI Bill for 
  3.33     educational assistance; and 
  3.34     * by providing eligibility to National Guard and Reserve 
  3.35     members who are ordered to active military duty under 
  3.36     U.S.C., Title 10 or Title 32, for a cumulative period of 30 
  3.37     days or more to enroll in individual and family TRICARE 
  3.38     health insurance upon their demobilization from active duty 
  3.39     status and return to drill status, at a co-pay and premium 
  3.40     rate comparable to that of federal employees participating 
  3.41     in similar health insurance programs; and 
  3.42     * by permitting each National Guard and Reserve member to 
  3.43     establish a pre-tax/tax deferred savings plan, similar to 
  3.44     but apart from a 401K retirement plan, which could be 
  3.45     tapped without penalty to help cover financial expenses 
  3.46     when the member is mobilized into active duty; and 
  3.47     * by providing eligibility for burial in a national 
  3.48     cemetery to National Guard and Reserve members who have 
  3.49     been ordered to active military service in an operation for 
  3.50     which the person becomes eligible for a campaign medal; and 
  3.51     * by advancing the age of eligibility for retirement 
  4.1      benefits from age 60 to one year earlier for every two 
  4.2      years beyond 20 years that a person has provided honorable 
  4.3      service in the National Guard or Reserve. 
  4.4      BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of the 
  4.5   State of Minnesota is directed to prepare copies of this 
  4.6   memorial and transmit them to the President of the United States 
  4.7   and Minnesota's Senators and Representatives in Congress.