May 11, 2007
Senator to hold hearings to reconfirm head of Arizona National Guard
Howard Fischer, Capitol Media Services
The head of the Senate Government Committee has refused to hold hearings to reconfirm the head of the Arizona National Guard.

Sen. Jack Harper, R-Surprise, said he is miffed that Maj. Gen. David Rataczak testified several years ago against his proposal to require Guard soldiers to conduct their training in Southern Arizona, a move the senator said would help slow the flow of people coming across the border illegally.

Harper said it took a presidential order to finally put soldiers along the border. But that did not happen until last year — four years after Rataczak, the adjutant general of the Arizona National Guard, opposed Harper’s original plan.

“He specifically said that the bill was not in the best interests of our national security,â€