Title: UNITED Act
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Uniform National Guard Implementation To End this Disaster Act or the UNITED Act

This bill requires the federal government to pay states for 100% of the cost of National Guard duty in connection with the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency. The requirement applies retroactively.
Presidential memoranda issued on August 3, 2020, required most states to pay 25% of the cost for such duty beginning on August 21, 2020, but maintained a 100% federal cost share for Texas and Florida.


[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8091 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8091

   To direct the Secretary of Defense to provide to States the total 
amount of funds for the costs to the States of activating the National 
              Guard in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            August 22, 2020

   Mrs. Bustos (for herself, Ms. Haaland, Mr. Rose of New York, Ms. 
 Jackson Lee, Mr. Cohen, Mr. San Nicolas, Mr. Pappas, Mr. Thompson of 
  California, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Case, Mr. Rush, Mrs. Watson 
 Coleman, Mr. Kildee, Ms. Titus, Ms. Lee of California, Mrs. Dingell, 
 Mr. Connolly, and Ms. Blunt Rochester) introduced the following bill; 
         which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To direct the Secretary of Defense to provide to States the total 
amount of funds for the costs to the States of activating the National 
              Guard in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Uniform National Guard 
Implementation To End this Disaster Act'' or the ``UNITED Act''.

SEC. 2. FUNDING ASSISTANCE FOR NATIONAL GUARD DUTY RELATING TO COVID-19 
              PANDEMIC.

    (a) Requirement.--For purposes of providing funds to a Governor of 
a State under sections 902 and 905 of title 32, United States Code, for 
members of the National Guard ordered to active duty under section 
502(f) of such title for duty in connection with the COVID-19 public 
health emergency, the Secretary of Defense shall pay the total amount 
of the costs of such duty, regardless of whether such members were so 
ordered before the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (b) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) The term ``COVID-19 public health emergency'' means the 
        public health emergency related to the coronavirus 2019 
        declared by the Secretary of Health and Human Services pursuant 
        to section 319 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
        247d).
            (2) The term ``Governor of a State'' means the following:
                    (A) The Governor of a State or the Commonwealth of 
                Puerto Rico, Guam, or the Virgin Islands.
                    (B) The commanding general of the District of 
                Columbia National Guard.
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