Homestead mailing list

["Lynn Wigglesworth" <lynnw1366 AT hotmail.com>]

I mentioned that I emailed my Congressmen about the Posse Comitatus 
thing...I got a reply from Senator Casey!

Lynn Wigglesworth

---- From Senator Casey:
Thank you for taking the time to contact me regarding the Consequence 
Management Response Force unit. I appreciate hearing from all Pennsylvanians 
about the issues that matter most to them.

Starting October 1, 2008, the 1st Brigade Combat Team (BCT) will come under 
the control of U.S. Army North at Northern Command. This unit, also to be 
known as the Consequence Management Response Force, will start training for 
disaster response missions in addition to regular combat training. The unit 
will operate out of their home post at Fort Stewart, Georgia.

As your United States Senator, I believe that all levels of government - 
local, state and federal - must be ready to respond to any catastrophic 
man-made or natural disaster. For this reason, I cosponsored legislation 
that would ensure that the National Guard under the authority of Governors 
maintains the primary responsibility to respond to natural disasters. I am 
proud to say that this authority was re-enacted earlier this year.

As it stands, the President can only deploy active duty servicemembers with 
a Governor's consent in domestic emergencies. Thus, any deployment by the 
1st BCT can only be utilized once a Governor has authorized the mission.
According to the Stafford Act of 1988, even if a Governor requests federal 
forces in a natural disaster emergency the forces are still not authorized 
to maintain law and order, a civilian mission. This statute allows federal 
forces to supplement the National Guard without violating the Posse 
Comitatus Act (PCA). The PCA is violated when civilian law enforcement 
officials make direct use of military investigators, the use of the military 
overlaps with the activities of civilian officials, or the military is used 
to subject citizens to the exercise of military power that is regulatory, 
prescriptive, or compulsory in nature.

Please be assured that I am monitoring this issue and that I will have your 
concerns in mind as circumstances change. Again, thank you for sharing your 
thoughts with me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about 
this or any other matter of importance to you.

If you have access to the Internet, I encourage you to visit my web site, 
http://casey.senate.gov. I invite you to use this online office as a 
comprehensive resource to stay up-to-date on my work in Washington, request 
assistance from my office or share with me your thoughts on the issues that 
matter most to you and to Pennsylvania.



Sincerely,
Bob Casey
United States Senator
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "bob ford" <bobford79 AT yahoo.com>
To: <homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Monday, December 01, 2008 11:31 AM
Subject: Re: [Homestead] A bigger worry than privacy


> I saw this news in the Wash. Post this am.  I still don't see how this is 
> legal with the Posse Comitatus Act,.................
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> --- On Mon, 12/1/08, Cathy <goosecreekfarm AT gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > From: Cathy <goosecreekfarm AT gmail.com>
> > Subject: [Homestead]  A bigger worry than privacy
> > To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
> > Date: Monday, December 1, 2008, 9:24 AM
> > This, to me, makes the privacy thing look like small
> > potatoes.
> >
> > http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081201/ts_alt_afp/usmilitarytroops
> >
> > Sure, they're just for responding to natural disasters.
> >  Sure, it will take
> > an act of Congress to use them in a law enforcement
> > capacity.
> >
> > Looking at the recent acts of Congress, the unthinkable
> > seems more and more
> > likely.
> >
> > Cathy
> > _______________________________________________
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>
>
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