The state governors are at an uproar over a Bush administration-backed bill to allow the president to take control of state National Guard units with or without the consent of the governor in the event of a quote serious natural or man-made disaster accident or catastrophe in the

United States. Cato senior editor Jean Healy discusses the issue in today's

podcast. What are state governors so upset about?

Well, last Saturday at the National Governors Association meeting in South Carolina,

you had some pretty strong words from both Republican and Democratic governors about a bill that just

passed in the House, reportedly with the backing of the Bush administration.

And what they're upset about is a provision in the House version of the National Defense Authorization Act that would allow the President to federalize National Guard units in a state even over the objection of state governors in the event of a quote

serious natural or man-made disaster accident or catastrophe which is a situation

apparently that the president gets to define all by himself.

And what that means is that if you've got bad weather reports during hurricane season,

the president in effect can decide unilaterally to take over

all of the military forces in any given state and assume control whether the governor likes it or not.

That's what they're upset about and that's why Governor Mike Huckaby of Arkansas,

the chairman of the National Governors Association,

said that the provision reflects a view that the states have been

reduced to nothing more than quote satellites of the federal government and

he's right about that and he's right to be upset. But wouldn't this help in situations like Katrina?

Well in a way this did all come out of the Katrina debacle.

If you recall back last fall after the horrible response to Katrina the president floated a similar

proposal he asked Congress to amend the Pasey Comitatus Act that's the longstanding federal

statute that restricts the government's power to use standing armies

to enforce order at home.

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