The head of the Texas National Guard says proposed state budget cuts would hurt the guard’s ability to respond quickly to disasters, including wildfires.
“The agency will lose its ability to respond quickly in times of need to large and multiple disasters,” Maj. Gen. John Nichols told the Senate Finance Committee today. “This seed money, if you will, we now use to get our soldiers into disasters quickly, it was cut in half, now leaving enough funding to respond to a single, small disaster.”
Nichols asked lawmakers to restore $2.3 million in recommended cuts and add an additional $2.3 million in funding for the Texas National Guard.