JEFFERSON CITY 鈥 At the same time Gov. Mike Parson is planning to send Missouri soldiers to the Texas border, his proposed budget zeroes out $5.7 million sought by the National Guard to boost lagging enlistment numbers.
In a House Budget Committee hearing Thursday, the director of the National Guard, Major General Levon Cumpton, said the money would have helped pay for $5,000 enlistment bonuses to bring in an estimated 360 additional soldiers.
鈥淭his unique referral program will bolster Air and Army recruiting, retention, and sponsorship efforts,鈥 the budget request notes.
Lawmakers, including Rep. Jim Kalberloh, R-Lowry City, who recently retired from the Guard, suggested that the Legislature may want to buck the governor鈥檚 recommendation and earmark the money.
鈥淭hese enlistment bonuses make a huge difference for retention,鈥 Kalberloh said.
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The friction surfaced as lawmakers are reviewing the governor鈥檚 budget recommendations for the fiscal year beginning July 1. They are required to send him a spending blueprint by early May.
Cumpton said many of the same pressures that have forced Parson to push for higher pay for the state鈥檚 44,000 rank-and-file workers are occurring in the National Guard.
Competition from the private sector where wages can be more rapidly adjusted to reflect market demand is playing a role in people leaving government jobs.
According to the agency鈥檚 budget request, the Guard is authorized to have 11,500 troops. But, the actual number of soldiers is about 10,600.
The debate over funding to bolster the Guard鈥檚 ranks came as Parson canceled a scheduled press conference to outline his plan to send troops to the southern border as part of an election-year effort by Republican governors to shine a spotlight on immigration issues.
The governor鈥檚 office did not offer an explanation for the cancellation, which came a day after Parson was among thousands of people at Wednesday鈥檚 Kansas City Chiefs鈥 Super Bowl parade who ran for safety after shots were fired at the end of the celebration.
Cumpton told the Post-Dispatch that the Guard鈥檚 retention issues are not a factor in planning for the Texas deployment. But he declined to outline how many troops are headed south.
鈥淚鈥檓 not prepared to do that today,鈥 Cumpton said.
The National Guard already has been providing support to the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol as part of a federal program.
A Guard spokesman said 250 soldiers from the 220th Engineer Company in Festus and the 1251st Transportation Company in Harrisonville are helping the Border Patrol 鈥渃onduct their law enforcement mission more efficiently,鈥 the Guard said.
Parson traveled to the border Feb. 4 to stand with other Republican chief executives to discuss border security.
In 2018, Parson鈥檚 predecessor, Republican Eric Greitens, deployed four Missouri Army National Guard troops and one helicopter to Arizona to help border protection.
Greitens called it a 鈥渃ritical mission鈥 even though the guard members were in a support role, providing only aerial surveillance.