(HorizonPost.com) – A group of bipartisan lawmakers in Congress is calling on the Senate and House Armed Services Committees to reject the Pentagon’s proposal to transfer some Air National Guard units to the US Space Force.
In a May 6 letter to the Chairmen and ranking members of the committees, 56 members of the House and 29 senators described the proposed plan as “deeply flawed” and argued that it would “undermine our National Guard system.”
In a proposal to the Senate Armed Services Committee in March, the Pentagon asked Congress to override the current law that requires governors to approve changes to state National Guard units to allow the Defense Department to transfer hundreds of Air National Guard to the Space Force.
The proposal, requested for the FY2025 National Defense Authorization Act, would affect roughly 1,000 Air National Guardsmen.
The lawmakers argued that those who sign up for the National Guard serve the country and their communities, and insisted that Congress should not “abandon this model.” They noted that the National Guard’s “original intent” was to have a ready force that could “respond to the needs of their state and country,” which is why the “authority was placed in the hands” of the governors.
The lawmakers said governors are charged with protecting the safety of the state’s citizens by maintaining their National Guard’s “readiness and deployability.”
Democrat Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado, the founding co-chair of the House Space Force Caucus, and Republican Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, led the group of House members who signed the letter. The senators on the letter were led by Colorado Democrat Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper.
Governor Greg Abbott of Texas and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis each sent letters attacking the Pentagon’s proposal. In his letter, Abbott accused the Biden administration of attempting a “power grab” and argued that the proposal would give the Air Force Secretary “unilateral authority” over state Air National Guard units.
A group of governors also sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to express their opposition to the proposal.
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