Mattis opposes plan to create new military branch for spaceBY REBECCA KHEEL - 07/12/17 12:09 PM EDT
http://thehill.com/policy/defense/341650-mattis-opposes-space-corps-planDefense Secretary James Mattis opposes a provision in the House’s version of the annual defense policy bill that would create a new military branch dedicated to space, a development congressional opponents of the move are hoping will bolster their position.
In a letter released Wednesday by Rep. Michael Turner (R-Ohio), Mattis argued now is not the time to create a new branch of the military.
“I strongly urge Congress to reconsider the proposal of a separate service Space Corps,” Mattis wrote in a letter to Turner. “I believe it is premature at add additional organization and administrative tail to the department at a time I am trying to reduce overhead.”
Turner is pushing an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would strip out the provision creating the service and replace it with a requirement for the Pentagon to study the issue.
Turner introduced a
similar amendment when the Armed Services Committee considered the bill, but it failed in a voice vote.
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“I don’t know of any other circumstance, and there may have been, where the secretary of the Air Force and the secretary of Defense weighed in an amendment,” Turner said.
Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson has also voiced her opposition to the Space Corps plan, arguing it would add unneeded bureaucracy to the Pentagon. She reiterated her concerns in her own letter to Turner.
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In Wednesday’s conference call, Turner said the chairmen of the Intelligence Committee and Appropriations Committee have also voiced their concerns to him about the plan.
Turner acknowledged there are issues with how the military handles space, but argued that it’s Congress’s fault for not giving the Pentagon the funding it needs.
Creating the Space Corps, he said, would be saddling a new Defense secretary and new Air Force secretary with a congressionally mandated new military branch before they have time to fully study the issue.
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In his letter, Mattis also argued the issue needs to be studied more and that removing budget caps would be a better start to fixing the problem.
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