Florida lawmakers want to grow the state’s National Guard. A bill passed during this legislative session will do just that.
SM 226 is a message urging Congress and President Joe Biden’s Administration to increase the size of the Florida National Guard.
Rep. Dan Daley, D-Coral Springs, spear headed the proposal in his chamber.
“We are allocated 12,000 guardsmen for a state of 22-million residents," said Daley. "That is the second to last for ratio of guardsmen to population out of the 54 national guard units in our country.”
According to the memorial, the federal government hasn’t increased the Florida National Guard’s funding or its number of troops in more than six decades.
“We are currently underprepared for a large scale disaster," state Sen. Tom Wright, R-Port Orange, said on the Senate floor. "Hopefully we don’t have one. But when and where it may be, we want to be ready."
Recently, Governor Ron DeSantis sent 1,000 members of the National and State Guard to secure the U.S. Mexico Border.
