I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2797
To amend title 32, United States Code, to improve the readiness of State 
defense forces and to increase military coordination for homeland security 
between the States and the Department of Defense. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 18, 2003
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina (for himself, Mr. DAVIS of Tennessee, Mr. 
JENKINS, Mr. BROWN of South Carolina, Mr. NORWOOD, Mr. COLLINS, 
Mr. MCCOTTER, Mr. CARDOZA, and Mrs. MYRICK) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 
A BILL 
To amend title 32, United States Code, to improve the 
readiness of State defense forces and to increase military 
coordination for homeland security between the States 
and the Department of Defense.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘State Defense Force 
Improvement Act of 2003’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Domestic threats to national security and 
the increased use of National Guard forces for out-
of-State deployments greatly increase the potential 
for service by members of State defense forces estab-
lished under section 109(c) of title 32, United States 
Code. 
(2) The efficacy of State defense forces is im-
peded by lack of clarity in the Federal regulations 
concerning those forces, particularly in defining lev-
els of coordination and cooperation between those 
forces and the Department of Defense. 
(3) The State defense forces suffer from lack of 
adequate military training, equipment, support, and 
coordination with the Department of Defense and 
other Federal agencies as a result of real and per-
ceived Federal regulatory impediments. 
SEC. 3. RECOGNITION OF STATE DEFENSE FORCES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 109 of title 32, United 
States Code, is amended—
(1) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as 
subsections (i) and (j), respectively; 
(2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol-
lowing new subsections: 
‘‘(d) RECOGNITION.—Congress hereby recognizes 
forces established under subsection (c) as an integral mili-
tary component of the Nation’s homeland security effort, 
while reaffirming that those forces remain entirely State 
regulated, organized, and equipped and recognizing that 
those forces will be used for homeland security purposes 
exclusively at the local level and in accordance with State 
law. 
‘‘(e) ASSISTANCE BY DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.—
The Secretary of Defense is authorized to coordinate 
homeland security efforts with, and to provide assistance 
to, a defense force established under subsection (c) to the 
extent such assistance is requested by a State or by a force 
established under subsection (c) and subject to the provi-
sions of this section. 
‘‘(f) USE OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE PROPERTY 
AND EQUIPMENT.—(1) The Secretary of Defense may au-
thorize qualified personnel of a force established under 
subsection (c) to use and operate property, equipment, and 
facilities of the Department of Defense as needed in the 
course of training activities and State active duty. 
‘‘(2) The Secretary of Defense may determine meth-
ods to expedite the ability of forces established under sub-
section (c) to have access to surplus Department of De-
fense equipment, consistent with the authorized mission 
of such forces, in a manner that will not result in direct 
or indirect costs to the Department of Defense.
vision of United States personnel at the time of the inci-
dent.’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(k) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘State’ 
includes a Territory, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 
and the District of Columbia.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Such section is 
further amended in subsections (a), (b), and (c) by strik-
ing ‘‘or Territory,’’ and all that follows through ‘‘of Co-
lumbia’’. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—(1) The heading of 
such section is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘§ 109. Maintenance of other troops: State defense 
forces’’. 
(2) The item relating to such section in the table of 
sections at the beginning of chapter 1 of such title is 
amended to read as follows:
‘‘109. Maintenance of other troops: State defense forces.’’.
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