U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) introduced a bill Tuesday designed to ensure National Guard members receive equal benefits when assigned to certain federal missions, specifically addressing situations where they are placed on full-time Title 32 duty to support federal law enforcement activities.
The legislation, titled the “Guard Equal Benefits for Federal Missions Act,” would require that certain full-time National Guard duty conducted under Title 32 be treated as service performed in response to a national emergency for the purpose of federal benefits eligibility.
Under Blackburn’s bill, which was shared exclusively with The Tennessee Star, National Guard members would receive credit toward programs including retirement eligibility under federal law, transitional health care benefits, and education assistance through the Post-9/11 GI Bill when their service is authorized by the president or Secretary of Defense and conducted in direct support of federal law enforcement operations.
Those operations include coordination with agencies such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, as well as other federal law enforcement entities designated by the Secretary of Defense.
The bill also specifies that eligible duty must be tied to addressing serious criminal activity, including drug trafficking, organized crime, and other public safety threats determined by the Department of Defense.
Blackburn’s introduction of the legislation comes as the National Guard has been deployed in multiple domestic federal law enforcement missions, including operations in Memphis under the Memphis Safe Task Force, as well as assignments in Washington, D.C., and along the southern border.
Under a directive announced last month by the Trump administration, National Guard troops deployed in Memphis, Washington, D.C., and along the southern border are receiving pay and benefits aligned with active-duty service members for the duration of their assignments.
The policy shift was highlighted during a recent visit to Memphis by President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, during which officials touted the task force’s results and met with service members on the ground.
Noting this, Blackburn said her bill to standardize federal benefit eligibility for qualifying National Guard Title 32 service would “ensure National Guard members get the benefits they’ve earned when they are called up to support federally directed public safety missions, regardless of how the operation is designated.”
U.S. Representative Matt Van Epps (R-TN-07), an active duty member of the Tennessee National Guard, is carrying the companion bill in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“As an active member of the National Guard, I appreciate the impact of the Tennessee National Guard’s work to make Memphis safe again. I applaud President Trump’s directive extending national emergency-level benefits to Guardsmen serving in the Memphis Safe Task Force, and I am proud to co-lead the Guard Equal Benefits for Federal Missions Act with Senator Marsha Blackburn to codify that policy permanently into law,” Van Epps said in a statement.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
