House Panel Lays Foundation for Future Space Force

by Sandra Erwin                 May 14, 2018                    (space.com)

• Last week, the House Armed Services Committee swiftly approved the recommendation of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee on military space reforms to establish a subordinate unified Space Command under U.S. Strategic Command.

• Ranking Democrat Rep. Jim Cooper said the HASC mark “continues our efforts to define space as a war fighting domain.” It is “vital to make space one of our highness priorities.”

WASHINGTON — The House Armed Services Committee in its version of the Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act — passed after midnight Wednesday by a vote of 60-1 — pushes forward with the reorganization of military space forces. The proposal sets the stage for further debate over the coming months as the HASC language moves toward a House vote and a House-Senate conference this fall.

The committee swiftly approved the recommendations of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee on military space reforms. One is to establish a subordinate unified Space Command under U.S. Strategic Command. Another provision calls for the secretary of the Air Force to establish a new numbered Air Force dedicated to space warfighting. The bill also directs the deputy secretary of defense to develop a plan to establish a separate acquisition system for military space vehicles, ground systems and terminals.

Unlike last year’s bill, this one does not mandate the establishment of a separate space corps in the U.S. military. That proposal is on hold pending the completion of an independent study mandated in the 2018 NDAA.

The only obstacle in this year’s push to reorganize space was an amendment introduced by Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee Chairman Mike Turner to delay the creation of a sub-unified space command until after the Pentagon submits the independent study.

Turner was the chairman of Strategic Forces before Rep. Mike Rogers took over. His amendment would allow the secretary of defense to waive the requirement for the creation of a subordinate unified command if the study provided an alternative that congressional leaders found acceptable.
Rogers and Ranking Democrat Rep. Jim Cooper pushed back fiercely during the committee markup, and Turner’s amendment was rejected by voice vote.

Turner could reintroduce the amendment before the full House vote but he would face tough odds. The Rules Committee would take the HASC rejection into account before allowing the amendment to get to the House floor.

“This committee continues to place a high priority on following through with fixing the significant flaws in the organization and management of national security space enterprise,” Rogers said during the markup on Wednesday. “We continue to work with DoD on the report, but we recognize Congress has to continue to place significant pressure on the bureaucracy.”

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