VT must pass Defend the Guard act
Americans are presently dying in a war started by the president without the consent of the American people. In this moment of worsening international crisis, Congress has abdicated its Article I authority and deferred to executive overreach rather than achieve proper congressional authorization.
Vermonters require the implementable force of law to protect their rights under the Constitution and gain accountability from Congress. Thankfully, a bill introduced a year ago would rectify this neglect, uphold the Constitution, and provide accountability. H.355, known as the Defend the Guard Act, would prohibit the deployment of the Vermont National Guard into overseas combat until Congress has voted to declare war, as required by Article I, Section 8 of the US Constitution. This is not a feel-good resolution. Many supporters of H.355 are veterans who desire clear congressional votes before a war is undertaken.
Similar bills have been introduced in over 30 states in recent years and passed chambers in other states. The NH House of Representatives passed theirs with a bipartisan majority this January. This is part of a national movement, predominantly led by veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, who do not want to see the mistakes of the global war on terror repeated for a new generation of soldiers.
Supportive of the Guard’s dual rule under both state and federal government, Defend the Guard is concise in its language—only three pages in length—and limited in scope. It specifies that it would not affect Title 32 domestic deployments, utilized under the governor’s direction to assist the civil authority and provide disaster relief, which were vital during recent flooding. Neither would it affect overseas training missions that take place under Title 10 federalization.
In Perpich v. Department of Defense (1990), the Supreme Court ruled that governors cannot object to their National Guard being deployed overseas to training operations, which are the intended purpose of federal funding: training for readiness to meet federal standards. The justices were unanimous and wisely did not extend the objection to combat operations, knowing the legal prerequisites are already laid out by the Constitution: only Congress can declare war, and the National Guard can only be called into federal service to repel invasion, suppress insurrection, and enforce the laws of the union, which include declarations of war.
Our entire Vermont congressional delegation voted to end this illegal war with Iran. They were defeated, not in a vote to legally authorize the war, but in a decision by Congress to sit on its hands.
When the federal government fails to uphold federal law, it is the obligation of the states to assert their sovereignty and defend their residents, including citizen-soldiers such as the National Guard, from arbitrary power. No one concerned with the law can accept the Guard’s activation into war without a vote by their elected representatives.
Rather than superseding federal law, H.355 affirms Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution and Title 10 of the US code and provides a further check on its violation. A representative that votes in favor of H.355 is doing nothing more than recertifying their oath of office.
For decades, Congress has willingly and unconstitutionally ceded its authority and oversight to the executive branch. May the recent votes on war powers in Iran be the final instance: a majority of congressional members were unwilling to accept the responsibility entrusted to them.
This is not merely a disagreement of policy. It is an overarching question: Do we have representative government or one-man rule, with the power to make war anywhere, at any time, and for any reason?
I say, not with our Vermont National Guard members! It is urgent that the Legislature proceed with H.355 and ensure its passage before our Vermont Guard is sent, yet again, into another deadly war on which no one voted. In exchange for putting their lives on the line, Guard members should at least be backed by the accountability of their elected officials. We owe them no less.
MaryDiane Baker
Action Corps Vermont organizer
Brattleboro
