National Guard Seeks $521 Million Reimbursement for Jan. 6 Response

June 24, 2021 by Dan McCue
National Guard Seeks $521 Million Reimbursement for Jan. 6 Response
Chief of the National Guard Bureau Gen. Daniel R. Hokanson holds a press briefing about the new mission, vision, and priorities for the Soldiers and Airmen of the National Guard at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., June 23, 2021. (Photo by U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Taryn Escott)

The National Guard is asking Congress to reimburse $521 million it says it spent in responding to the Jan. 6 siege on Capitol Hill and the extended protection it provided in the months that followed.

Gen. Daniel Hohanson said during a Pentagon press conference on Wednesday that if it doesn’t get the money soon, the force may need to eliminate drill weekends and curtail its response to hurricanes and other natural disasters that occur before the end of the current fiscal year.

“If we don’t get that funding fairly soon, we’ll have to look not only at August but also September, the last two months of the fiscal year, either curtailing completely or drastically reducing our National Guard drill weekends and annual training, as well as our operational maintenance,” Hohanson said.

In a memo sent to Congress last week, the National Guard said if the funding is not provided by July 1, units nationwide and in U.S. territories will be ordered to prepare a cease on some operations and cancel drills from August through Sept. 30, with training in July also potentially eliminated. 

Approximately 26,000 Army and Air Force National Guard personnel were deployed to defend Capitol Hill after the Capitol building was stormed by supporters of former President Donald Trump. 

Hokanson said Guardsmen deployed from every state, Guam and the District of Columbia to the operation. The troops erected barriers around Capitol Hill, stood ready to repel further assaults and stayed on for nearly four months after the inauguration of President Joe Biden.

Not getting the money would have “a very significant impact on National Guard readiness,” he said.

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