Fund To Assist California National Guard Families Goes Untapped

Sacramento, CA -- Government officials want to reform a fund set up to give financial help to National Guard members because it assisted only three families last year.

Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante says it's shameful that the fund paid out less than $8,000 all last year. He says the National Guard isn't doing enough to publicize the program that offers $2,000 grants to needy families of activated guardsmen.

The National Guard's human resource director says the program is too restrictive. It requires soldiers to prove that they lost 30 percent of their civilian income when they joined the guard.

He says grants should be disbursed based solely on need, not on mathematical formulas. Hanford assemblywoman Nicole Parra is calling the fund's record "inexcusable." She's vowing to help correct it through legislation.

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