# 119-hr-8281: Guard Equal Benefits for Federal Missions Act

119-hr-8281, Guard Equal Benefits for Federal Missions Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Van Epps, Matt [R-TN-7] (R-TN); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8281
- As of: 2026-09-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-8281
- Congress: 119
- Title: Guard Equal Benefits for Federal Missions Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-04-14
- Sponsor: Rep. Van Epps, Matt [R-TN-7] (R-TN)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-21

## Summary

**Treats certain full‑time National Guard duty as service in response to a national emergency.** This bill would make full‑time Guard duty under 502(f) count for any federal benefit that requires national emergency service when the President or the Secretary of Defense authorizes it, the duty directly supports federal law enforcement (including ICE, DEA, or ATF), and it targets major criminal activity, drug trafficking, organized crime, or other public safety threats as determined by the Secretary of Defense. - National Guard members: Guard members who meet the bill's conditions would become eligible for benefits linked to national emergency service when their 502(f) duty is so designated. - Service members and veterans: Qualifying duty would count for retirement age reduction, access to the Transitional Assistance Management Program, and Post‑9/11 GI Bill benefits. - Federal benefit programs: The bill extends the same emergency‑service treatment to any other federal benefit that requires service in response to a national emergency, subject to the Secretary of Defense's determination.

## Provisions PRIA read

- More federal benefits for Guard: benefit, high. If enacted, the bill would treat full-time National Guard duty under 10 U.S.C. 502(f) as service "in response to a national emergency" for benefit purposes. This would apply only when the duty is authorized by the President or the Secretary of Defense, is performed in direct support of federal law…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-6976: Duty Status Reform Act
- 119-hr-2725: Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1229: United States-Israel Defense Partnership Act of 2025
- 119-hr-7773: Field Integration of Homeland Intelligence Act of 2026
- 119-hr-5351: NSF AI Education Act of 2025
- 119-hr-9298: Stopping Harmful and Outrageous Torts Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-8281 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/8281)

## Related
- [119-hr-6976: Duty Status Reform Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6976)
- [119-hr-2725: Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2725)
- [119-hr-1229: United States-Israel Defense Partnership Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1229)
- [119-hr-7773: Field Integration of Homeland Intelligence Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7773)
- [119-hr-5351: NSF AI Education Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5351)
- [119-hr-9298: Stopping Harmful and Outrageous Torts Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9298)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8281 (as of 2026-09-21).