Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger asked President Bush and his cabinet members for more money to buy equipment for the California National Guard. He made his plea after attending a governor's meeting in Washington. From Washington Sara Sciammacco reports.
Governor Schwarzenegger says half of the equipment the National Guard needs is not in the state. He says it gets deployed with units to Iraq, but never returns. He says California is in a difficult position to respond in the event of a local emergency.
Schwarzenegger : I think it is not fair to the states for the federal government to go into a war situation and then take from us the equipment. Every time our national guards leave take with them the equipment, but they don't bring it back.
Schwarzenegger says the response from White House officials was that it would take a few years to replace the equipment due to fiscal constraints.
From Capitol News Connection in Washington, I'm Sara Sciammacco for KPBS News.
